Transcend
by medusa
Summary: Just when Max is on the brink of losing all hope, she sees a face she thought she had lost forever. (post finale, **complete** repost of my story)
1. Sacrifice

typical disclaimer: i don't own any of these characters, except for maybe...well you'll have to read to find out  
  
timeline: directly after ajbac.  
  
author's note: this is completed repost of my story. i had to delete the other one because it wouldn't allow me to upload chapters.  
  
  
---transcend---  
  
chapter1: sacrifice  
  
There was no doubt in his mind when they told him only an X-5 heart would do.  
  
"Fight them Maxie."  
  
If only she knew how much he loved her, that he was willing to do this for her.  
  
"Promise me you'll fight them"  
  
There was no other way. In his mind's eye it was a simple sacrifice. He would do anything to save her. Death was better, than living without her. Besides, she was braver than him. She always was. Willing to drop everything from their past and experience life like he never let himself do. With conviction he stood from her side, fingering the gun taken from the guard he had killed just moments ago.  
  
"X5-599, I've got a heart for you."  
  
He did not hesitate as he pressed the gun to his temple.   
  
'I love you. Fight them,' was the last thought on his mind before he pulled the trigger.  
  
The shot rang through the room like a thunderclap and everyone who could, jumped despite themselves.  
  
The bullet was true and easily pierced his skull, fragments of metal and bone embedded in gray matter. There was no pain as the world around him faded to black and his body slumped over. 'I love you…'  
  
*****  
  
Though the heartbeat that filled the room, was eerily calming, Max could not help but be sickened by what the director said. Was it true that Zack's heart now beat in her chest?  
  
Zack took it upon himself to make sure the X-5 who escaped survived, but Max never realized that he would go to such drastic measures to save them. Or was it just to save her? They were both so young, yet Zack had so much more to do in life. To settle down, make friends, find someone to love… Tears welled in her eyes. Why would he do that?  
  
The constant unending beat of Zack's heart echoed through the room and reverberated in her skull. With each thump a vague whisper entered her mind. 'Fight them.'  
  
*****  
  
"You should really just give it a break for at least an hour," Krit said as he stood behind Logan, who sat at his computer furiously typing away.  
  
"No."  
  
"We will find her eventually. But you've been trying to hack into Manticore for over eight hours now. You need some food in you."  
  
"No."  
  
Krit shook his head and gave up on the monosyllabic friend of Maxie and headed to the kitchen to get himself some grub. Syl had taken it upon herself to cook them brunch.  
  
"Have you seen his fridge?" Syl asked in disbelief, "Man, I would totally latch on to a meal ticket like this." Seeing Krit was not amused she continued, setting a plate down before him. "Lighten up, guy. We'll get them back."  
  
"I know that. I'm more worried for Logan. He's gonna drive himself crazy."  
  
"We X-5 girls tend to do that." Her smile was infectious and soon spread to Krit.  
  
"Now what we really gotta do is convince him to use his hacking skills to get Zack's PIN for the contact line. Or at least get him away from the computer, so I can have my turn with it. If we can change that dopey message of Zack's, we could really have a party."  
  
"Sounds like a plan to me."  
  
They joked with one another to keep the mood light so that the burden of loss did not drag them down. Neither would voice the very real possibility that Zack or Max, if not both, were dead.  
  
Finally, albeit eight hours later, Syl was able to peel Logan's eyes from the screen, and bring him to the table for an early dinner. From what Logan had eaten earlier, it was really his breakfast.  
  
When Logan left, Krit took the opportunity to commandeer the computer and take the hot seat. Literally. He had to shift his position a few times, uncomfortable with the warmth, but soon lay his worries to the side. There were more important things to do.  
  
On the screen he saw the fruits of Logan's efforts. He had come through the back door, and through the garbage files, pulling up a few old blue prints and the like. But everything he had access too was old by at least a year. Current stuff was firewalled pretty tight and it would be extremely difficult to figure out where exactly on the vast compounds Max and Zack might be held.  
  
It was tempting to help Logan along, but Krit sensed it was a battle Logan wanted to fight alone. There was no way Logan could even hope to get out there with them and hurt Manticore in the physical sense, so he did his part in the virtual world.  
  
After a few seconds, without disturbing any of Logan's work, Krit easily hacked into the phone company's database, where Zack had created their contact line. He raised an eyebrow at the speed and efficiency of Logan's computer. The rusty old thing he scraped together back home had less than a quarter this speed. Syl could have the food, he would take the computer.  
  
His fingers flew across the keys, well accustomed to the board, and seconds later he tracked down Zack's PIN. He smirked as he saw the algorithm the company used to try and protect the users. It was such a simple bit switch he didn't even bother trying to crack it, easily decrypting it in his head. Krit was alone so he did not hide his disappointment. It would have been nice to see this computer at work breaking down and decoding something heavy.  
  
62943  
  
Krit picked up the phone, but before he dialed, he saw the letters above each number. He was always up for a quick challenge. Probably something military like, he laughed to himself.  
  
But it turned out to be much simpler than that.  
  
M-A-X-I-E  
  
'Damn, Zack you really had it bad didn't you?' he sighed before dialing up the voice mail. After the prompt, he entered the pin and selected the option to change message.  
  
"After the beep, begin recording new message." BEEP.  
  
"Hey guys, this is Sylvan Krit. We want to have a get together with you guys, so give us a shout and the number and time we can get a hold of you and we'll plan things."  
  
*****  
  
It had been only a few days of senseless beatings that reinforced why Max called this place hell. They had strapped her down for most of the day, and would play the security tape from that night over and over. The tape had no sound; instead she was forced to listen to the drowning rhythms of her borrowed heart. They looped the goddamn tape so all she saw, over and over for hours on end, was Zack standing and killing himself.   
  
At first she couldn't rip her eyes away from the screen because she had to know for sure that that film hadn't been tampered with. Maybe that wasn't what really happened. Maybe he didn't shoot himself, and that wasn't blood that splattered against the wall. She was not shown what happened before or after, just him standing, muttering something and then shooting himself.  
  
Though she didn't mean to, she was able to read his lips. "X5-599, I've got a heart for you," was the last thing he said. She didn't need the audio from the tape to hear his voice form the words in her head. Why would he do that?  
  
After a while she tried to close her eyes and shut out the images. But now, the scene was burned into her memory and played on the back of her lids. Even if she was able to clear from her mind the sight of Zack the perpetual pulsating of the heart would crawl through her skin, seep into her nose and mouth, and down her throat threatening to suffocate her with its constant pounding.  
  
"Please!! Please turn it off!!" she screamed to the uncaring sterile walls, fighting her restraints. Soon, the exertion tired her bruised and battered body, and she could only raise her voice to a whimper, "Please…no more."  
  
If they meant to break her spirit, they were doing a beautiful job.  
  
She did not know from where in the depths of her mind the memory of Zack's disembodied voice came from but it was the last sliver of hope that she clung to. 'Promise me you'll fight them'  
  
*****  
  
One by one Krit and Syl contacted the others and a few days after changing the message, they started to trickle in, gathering in an abandoned warehouse. As of yet, only Zane had gotten there, but Jondy, Avery and Cam were confirmed and on their way. As much as they enjoyed gathering once again, something Zack never let them do, the circumstances under which they met made the reunion heavy hearted.  
  
Zane turned a wary eye to Logan. He was an outsider and had no right to be there. Thankfully Syl and Krit came to his defense. How would they react when they found out they had Lydecker locked up in a cheap motel room, and he would be helping them?  
  
They had sat down and planned for the past few days but they could not agree on anything. As much as they hated to admit it, they had never taken the reigns of an operation. Zack and the other older ones were always there to plan a course of action. All that did was help to bring down their morale.  
  
Krit turned to Logan, "Logan, have you figured out exactly where they have them?"  
  
"There is nothing in here about any captured...anything!" He slapped the table beside him. Even after a week, despite Logan's equipment, he could not find a crack in the firewall. It nearly drove him mad not knowing what happened to Max. But not for one second did he actually believe Max was dead. He still cursed himself for listening to Lydecker and just leaving her there. She was strong and she would have survived, why did he let himself just leave her there. It was that, more than anything, that tore his heart asunder.  
  
*****  
  
It was a cloudy day when they walked Max from one building to another. Her arms and legs tightly chained, her wrists secured to a chain belt across her waist. Though her will had been broken and she did little to resist their efforts, the guards took no chances with her.  
  
The wind whipped her hair around her head, but she couldn't bring herself to care. Had she had the range of motion to tuck her hair behind her ears, it would not matter as her muscles were so sore that even this slow pace was a painful effort.  
  
It was pure chance that she lifted her head that moment and saw him. He was walking, with no guards surrounding him, toward what seemed to be the main building of the complex. He was dressed in regular clothing. His blond hair was slightly shorter than she remembered. His build still muscular and firm. Sure that could be anyone, but when he turned his head and looked at her…  
  
Those eyes. There was no mistaking those crystal clear blue eyes, that intense gaze so piercing. Those bastards, they lied to her, that tape wasn't real, he lived!  
  
"Zack!" she yelled. Her sudden burst of energy took the guards by surprise, giving her a precious window to leap free from their circle. A few quick elbows to the gut and they were out of her way. With small shuffling steps, which was all the chains would allow her, she tried to reach him.  
  
He, too, seem startled as she reached out to him as far as her chains would let her. "Zack! It's me, Max. Please, help me! Zack!" As quickly as they were pushed aside the guards were on her, beating her down with the butts of their rifles.  
  
"Zack!" she pleaded to him, between the grunts of pain. The taste of the blood in her mouth almost made her wretch, but she did not care. Why was Zack staring at her like she was crazy? Why didn't she catch even a glimmer of recognition in his eyes? Had they turned him so quickly? Maybe they told him that she had died and he couldn't bare to handle the news.  
  
"Zack. Please. You're all I have left." She yelled more to herself than this stranger who now wore Zack's face. At least he was here with her, alive. If anything she would resist the reprogramming to bring him back with her.   
  
*****  
  
XI5-603 was glad to be home and in regular clothes again, rather than the tattered clothes of a typical street bum. He had just completed a mission in Russia, and the assassination went smoothly. As much as he lived on the thrill of the mission, it was always good to come back to Manticore. After he handed in these reports, he planned on taken a nice long shower and getting some shut eye. It would be his first rest in two weeks. But Manticore took good care of her soldiers well, and allowed for a whole day of rest and relaxation before training would continue or another mission would be issued.  
  
As he walked across the courtyard, on his way to the Director's office, he caught a quick glance of a new prisoner they must have brought in. Strange that they would assign six guards and chain one woman so heavily, but he never questioned Manticore's methods. The chilly breeze played with her wavy brown locks, her skin was a soft mocha. His natural curiosity told him to inquire about the girl, but he pushed those feelings down almost like a reflex. They told him his curiosity, when not directed toward reconnaissance, was his greatest flaw and it would be beneficial if he put such inquiring thoughts away. And so he did.  
  
He turned his head away trying not to concern himself with such trivial things, but soon he sensed a pair of eyes studying him. XI5-603 always felt a chill up his back when someone watched him. Despite himself he turned again toward the prisoner, and this time he met her gaze.  
  
It was as though a fire, long gone, had sparked in her eyes. From the way she looked at him, it seemed that she recognized him. But that was impossible. He ran a quick mental check of all the faces he knew, from the lowliest street peasant he met, to the prime ministers and their daughters yet he could not place her face. He knew he should have dismissed her, she had no relevance to his life, but there was something about her. She was so beautiful. The cuts and bruises from countless beatings could not hope to hide that. This time, though he tried, he could not tear his eyes from her face.  
  
He would not admit it if anyone asked him, but he was startled at what she did next. Her pleading screams ripped through the quiet courtyard like a unexpected thunder. She moved quicker than she should have been able to with those chains about her appendages, and easily injured a few of the guards around her. Now he understood why she had her own personal army guarding her.  
  
But what was she trying to say? Was she calling out to him? Her eyes were locked with his as she called out a strange name. Zack. Who was she talking to? The prisoner must have been undergoing preparations for an indoctrination of some sort, surely she must have been mad from the process if she thought she knew him.  
  
It was strange though. From the moment he saw her face his body froze. Even now, as the guards beat her to bloody submission, his feet refused to move. The soft curves of her face and the fire in her eyes, were etched into his mind. This was a curiosity he could not push aside. XI5-603 had to know more about this prisoner. 


	2. Fight Them...

---transcend---  
  
chapter2: fight them  
  
Zane was in a somber mood. Within a span of twenty four hours he had just discovered that Brin was reprogrammed, Tinga was dead and Max and Zack were captured. And all this was at the hands of Manticore. Would they never be free?  
  
Syl and Krit wouldn't tell him outright, but he knew there was a very real possibility that Max and Zack were dead as well. It was a sickening thought. Until only a few days ago he had never made contact with any of his siblings beside brief chats with Zack. And now he found out that among those who never escaped in the first place, he had lost another four as well.  
  
"So what is your life like?" Syl spoke, obviously uncomfortable by the silence between them. For the past hour, after they had told Zane everything they knew, it was unnervingly quiet. The sounds of Logan's keyboard had clung to the thickening hush like a t-shirt on a humid summer day.  
  
Zane forced a smile, "I'm missing my home. Ever since Eyes Only gave us the heads up on us being compromised and all, I've been in roaming mode. Zack would have been proud. All I have now is my dog. Me and my dog, how cliché is that?" They all turned to look at the German Shepard who was lying in the corner viciously chewing a huge bone. "Happy he gave the warning though, as I was leaving the city there was a huge caravan of troops. I don't think I could have taken them on my own."  
  
Krit nodded toward Logan who was on the lower level of the warehouse where all the computer equipment was wired up. "That's the guy you should be thanking."  
  
"What? He knows Eyes Only?"  
  
"He is Eyes Only," Syl corrected him.  
  
"Ah... that would explain the equipment. But why is he all gung ho to help us? He's not Manticore alumni is he?"  
  
"Naw, nothing like that." Syl waved away his question.  
  
"Then what?"  
  
"Let's just say that if Max wasn't caught up in all in this, he wouldn't give a rat's ass."  
  
*****  
  
'This equipment is useless!' Logan screamed within the confines of his mind. He picked up the keyboard and pulled back, ready to throw it across the room. Realizing it would do him no good he sighed and put it back in its place. The computer would be even more useless without a keyboard.  
  
He was on the brink of madness at this point. It was such a hopeless cause. Every tactic he could think of to break into the main database had been shot down within seconds of success. So many glimmers of hope snuffed out over and over again.  
  
The past few days had been hell. Logan had fully isolated himself from everything and everyone. He barely slept and ignored his stomach's protests for food, even when Syl brought the nourishment to him. After just abandoning Max like that he could not tear his eyes from the screen nor his fingers from the keyboard. If this computer was the only link he had to finding what happened to Max, then this computer was all that existed.  
  
So stuck in this frame of mind, he barely noticed her presence until her gun was pressed against the base of his skull.  
  
*****  
  
All he wanted to do was sleep. It was mid-afternoon when he lay in his boxers staring up at the ceiling from his bed, his body still damp from his shower. The sun was in his eye, but it did not matter since he was trained well in the methods to naturally and quickly induce sleep. He could slip into a slumber in the middle of a battlefield yet now… every time he closed his eyes all he could see was her hauntingly beautiful face. Quietly he voiced the name she had identified herself as, "Max."  
  
Hours passed, and the sun had set and still he could not bring himself to sleep. Frustrated beyond words he got up and threw on some jeans and a simple white t-shirt, slipped on some shoes and headed out the door.  
  
With a brisk pace he walked to the building where all prisoners were held. He quietly slipped into the building and down the hall to the security room where the prisoners were monitored. Pressing his ear against the door he could hear the slow steady breathing of the guard on duty. The fool was thankfully asleep. With a practiced ease he used his lock pick and quietly stalked into the room. After studying a few monitors his eyes came to rest on her. She sat hugging her knees in the back corner on the bed, as far from the moonlight as possible, as though it might burn her. Her hair hung in her face hiding her perfect features, but there was no mistaking that it was her.  
  
Quickly, reading the bottom of the screen, he got all the information he needed and crept to the keyboard in front of the napping security guard. A few commands was all that was needed to loop the camera in her cell and the hallway that led to it. As he left the sound of the door closing behind him startled the guard awake.  
  
*****  
  
"Hands in the air." Her voice was reminiscent of a growl any animal used to warn trespassers. With an exaggerated slowness Logan lifted his hands from the keyboard. He did not say a thing.  
  
"Now, tell me who you are and why you are here."  
  
Krit leaned over the banister a floor above, hearing the commotion. "Avery? Is that you?"  
  
"Krit?" She did not take her eyes off Logan, but recognized her brother's voice from their discussion on the phone. "Who is this guy?"  
  
"He's a friend."  
  
Logan still held his tongue as he could feel Krit's assurances might not be enough to persuade their sibling.  
  
Her voice supported his theory. "Why is he a friend?"  
  
Syl and Zane joined Krit, leaning over the railing to view the spectacle their sister was making. "Avy, put the gun down. That's Eyes Only," Syl yelled down to her sister.  
  
She pushed the gun harder into the back of Logan's head before reluctantly putting it back in its holster under her jacket.  
  
"Alright, alright, I put my toy away. Now someone explain why he is a friend."  
  
"Always the cynic, hey big sis?" Zane added his two cents.  
  
"Zane?" she asked, yet still did not take her eyes off her potential target.  
  
"In the flesh." He knew she was more protective of him, and utilized that relationship to calm her down. "Now leave Logan alone with his computer and get up here. We have big things to plan."  
  
*****  
  
"I'm here to visit the prisoner 16 in cell block H," he said matter of factly to the three guards at the front desk.  
  
They all recognized who he was, and it amused him how he could hear their hearts beat faster and he could see them literally quiver in their boots. All the regular human soldiers got nervous around the X series without fail. They understood clearly that these children and teenagers were bred to be killers from even before they were implanted into the mothers.   
  
The third who had been sitting at the desk stood and tried to look as calm and serious as possible, but could not help but gulp. "I'm sorry sir, there were express orders that there were to be no visitors to that particular cell."  
  
"Strange," XI5-603 looked down at the guards name tag and exaggerated the name as though he were speaking to a child, "Sullivan, because I was given express orders to interrogate that particular prisoner."  
  
"Uh, I think our orders…"  
  
"You think?" he stepped forward, using his piercing gaze to bore into the man's skull. The fear was evident in the Sullivan's eyes. "I don't like when I cannot complete my objective because a bumbling fool could not understand a simple request. Now take me to cell H-16."  
  
Sullivan stumbled with his response, "Y-Yes sir."  
  
XI5-603 knew the way and lead by a few paces. Stopping at the solid steel door that was clearly labeled H-16. As he waited for the guard to catch up, he leaned in to peer through the small window. It was just as he saw on the monitor, she had not moved an inch.  
  
When he blocked the light that was streaming through the little window, her eyes moved almost imperceptibly to study the shadow he created. Her head moved ever so slightly as she looked up out of the corner of her eye to see who had come to call. The light from the hall was too bright for her night vision to kick in and her head dropped back down again as she could not recognize the backlit silhouette.  
  
What was he doing here? She was nothing. A simple prisoner who was going mad due to the breakdown process. She thought she recognized him, but that was impossible. She even called him a strange name. So then why was he so drawn to her? Without making a sound he mouthed her name. "Max."  
  
"Did you say something sir?"  
  
"Let me in," his voice was low and lethal.  
  
Sullivan fumbled with the keycards before finding the right one. "Uh…sir?" He motioned with the card since XI5-603 stood in the way.  
  
He did not say anything, but took a step back to allow the guard access to the electric lock. Fumbling with it again, Sullivan accidently inserted the card the wrong way. He swore quietly at his stupidity. Down back where they had come from the other guards' snickers echoed loudly. It was obvious Sullivan would not hear the end of this. Annoyed, XI5-603 turned his head to the remaining officers and their faces went pale.  
  
XI5-603 placed his hand on the guard's shoulder and could feel the man's muscles tensed under his touch. "Breath man." Apparently his advice did not help, making the guard even more nervous but eventually the card swiped properly and opened the door. One step in to the small room he turned his head and spoke over his right shoulder to Sullivan. "Keep the door unlocked and leave us."  
  
"What if she tries to escape?"  
  
"I can handle it. Or do you forget who I am?"  
  
"Yes sir, I mean no sir."  
  
"I will call you back down when I am finished."  
  
Sullivan nodded and closed the door. Just as he had ordered, there was no sound of a bolt locking in place.  
  
"Who…" the frail voice came from her lips, "Who are you?" She had not looked up from her knees, as though her head was too heavy to move. Max had been expecting another debilitating shot, that weakened her to the state of a normal 19 year old girl if not less. Ever since her recovery they had been consistently pumping her full of that inhibitory drug.  
  
"Who do you think I am?" he asked in return.  
  
She perked up at the sound of his voice, slowly lifting her head, she squinted her eyes to study his face. "Zack? I knew it. I knew you were alive." She stood now, her hospital gown barely reaching her knees, and on wobbly legs walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and leaning heavily into him. It seemed she did not trust her own strength. Burying her head in his chest she tried to hold back the tears that came unwarranted. "They were feeding me lies Zack. They told me you were dead. That you had killed yourself for me. I didn't want to believe but they showed me this clip..." Her body shook with sobs.  
  
XI5-603 did not know what to do. After hesitating he lay timid hands on her back, her flesh sucking the heat from his hands like ice. It was then he realized her whole body was cold and clammy under his arms, and without being aware of it he began to rub her back, creating friction and warmth.  
  
He loved how she seemed to fit perfectly in his arms. It was a strange feeling. It wasn't like he was new to physical contact, many of his missions involved seducing women of power, or with connections to high places. Objectives requiring him to hold them tenderly and feign love and support. But this was different. XI5-603 did not want to let go.  
  
But he knew he had to, he could not carry on this rouse, leading her on and making her think he was this Zack person. Deep down inside, he knew that wasn't right. Quietly, almost a whisper he spoke, "I'm not Zack."  
  
She pulled her head back, "What are you talking about?"  
  
"I'm not who you say I am."  
  
"If you think Manticore has changed you it hasn't. You're still Zack."  
  
"No." He watched as her eyebrow crinkled in confusion and her eyes searched his own for a clue as to what he was talking about.  
  
She reached up with her hand to stroke his face, "You're still Zack."  
  
The Zack look alike took her arms in his hands and held her back. Without another word he turned around so that, for the first time, she could read his barcode.  
  
330417291603  
  
Behind him, he could hear her sharp intake of breath and the shuffle of her feet as she scrambled away. "No…no…no…" she moaned. When he turned she hid even further in the corner than before, hugging her knees tightly, staring at where the wall met the floor.  
  
She rocked back and forth muttering in a low tone, "But your face…They must have pumped me full of hallucinogens. You…you aren't real. You're just something my mind created…you're just in my mind."  
  
Little by little her rocking slowed and her eyes crept up to meet his. After seeing that he was still there her gaze dropped down and she started to hit her temple with the heel of her hand, her rocking motion increased. Softly she whispered to the wall. "It's just in your head… Get it together Maxie… It's just in your head. Fight them Maxie… I would rather die than going back there…. I will not go back there… Fight them Maxie… You won't be able to do to me what you did to Brin… It's just in your head."  
  
Her voice was weak and it was apparent she was losing faith in her words. He could not stand to see her like this. Carefully, he approached her and placed his hands on her arms. "I'm real. I'm not imagi—"  
  
"Get out of my head!" She screamed in his face hoping he would disappear in a puff of insubstantial smoke. Seeing he still remained she looked away again, tears blurring her vision, and began her mutterings again.  
  
"Please. I don't know how or why ... but I'm here to help you." He brushed some hair out of her face and caught one of her tears with his thumb and wiped it away. "Please don't cry…" What was he doing? He was a soldier, she was a worthless prisoner, this was all phony sentimentality. He should have been stronger than this. He shouldn't have even cared. A warrior of his caliber shouldn't have given a damn. But he did.  
  
*****  
  
"And you sure it was him?" Her skepticism came through the phone loud and clear.  
  
Sullivan was just about as nervous talking to the director over the phone as he was talking to an X in person. Almost. "Yes ma'am. I'm positive it was XI5-603. He's in there with the prisoner as we speak. He said he was given orders to see her."  
  
"Really…" He could hear her type something. "The tape isn't showing anything."  
  
"That's impossible I just walked down there with him myself. He has to be in the room with her, or else we would have seen him again."  
  
A few more key strokes. "He looped the tape…"  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"Nothing. Thank you for the update, but this is no longer your concern."  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
"Good job."  
  
"Thank you ma'am." He hadn't even finished his sentence when he heard the click of the phone on the other side. A smile spread to his face as he hung his own phone back on the hook. He was a good little guard.  



	3. Truth Revealed

---transcend---  
  
chapter3: truth revealed  
  
"So you're saying we do nothing?" Krit asked incredulously.  
  
Avery shrugged her shoulders as she polished one of her many guns. "That's exactly what I'm saying. Zack was foolish to rush in with only four of you. You two were lucky to get out. He got careless and he got caught and took Max down with him."  
  
"We can't just leave them there." Syl's anger soaked into her words.  
  
Finally Avery lifted her eyes from her work. "Why not? We don't even know that they are alive! You wanna risk all of us for a couple of worm eaten corpses?"  
  
Zane joined the conversation. "And what if they are alive? How could you live with yourself knowing you just abandoned them to be turned into mindless drones?"  
  
"How would you live with yourself when they grab you and turn you into a mindless drone?" Despite the three of them ganging up on her, Avery was holding her own. "It was evident last time that even with help from Logan and Hitler's mentor over there," Avery nodded her head at Deck who had been laying blindfolded and strapped to an old hospital bed for the past six hours, "you couldn't succeed. What makes you think we will make it this time?"  
  
"There are more of us this time…" Zane added.  
  
"More of us for them to capture. They may have lost their DNA lab but they could easily make up for that by taking us in. In the end, we would be helping Manticore by giving them access to our genes so they can rebuild what they had lost. Is that what you want?"  
  
"Why are you so sure we will fail? There are four of us with two more on the way. Manticore is probably still reeling from our last attack, so our chances of success are good." Syl tried to rationalize.  
  
"Syl. You are talking about Manticore. By the time Cam and Jondy join us they will have already recovered, if not fortified themselves from a second assault." Avery had a point. "And what about this Logan? How do we know he wasn't working with Lydecker to try and trap you while you were all in the compound?"  
  
"Max trusted him…" Krit edged in before Avery cut him off.  
  
"And look where that got her. Why put a wolf I do not know at my back?"  
  
"He was a huge help while we were in there." Syl would not tolerate Avery speaking of Logan that way, he was a great asset during the first attack and she would not let her sister sow seeds of doubt in her mind. "He looped the cameras and when he guided us through the compound he sent us through a path of least resistance. He is excellent at the computer."  
  
"There is nothing he can do that Krit can't do ten times better I'm sure."  
  
Krit wanted to take the compliment, as it was so rare to hear such a thing from Avery, but he was growing tired of her resistance. Avery was the closest thing to a leader they would get. She was essentially a female Zack. "You can't make me stay behind. Logan is just as good as I am, and he knows his way around his own computer better than me. We can utilize his talents to maximize our chances of success."  
  
"I still don't like this, any of this. There are too many things we are leaving to chance here. For God's sake we are getting help from that bitch over there…"  
  
Syl corrected her sister, "That bitch over there knows Manticore inside and out and hates the new people in charge."  
  
"We are letting some whack-job radical cyber journalist watch our backs…"  
  
Krit once again jumped to Logan's defense, "He is the best there is out there that already knows our situation and he wants Max back probably even more than we do."  
  
"I don't like it…" Her anger was beginning to falter.  
  
"You would really just leave them?" Zane, who had stayed silent for most of this fight, spoke with a calm collected voice. As he held eye contact with his sister something unspoken was passed between them.  
  
Avery huffed in defeat. "Prove to me that there is something to save and I will go. But I will not risk my life and my future for nothing."  
  
*****  
  
She did not seem upset but then again the director rarely showed any sort of emotion. "Her vision is clouded with a hallucinogenic."  
  
XI5-603 had silently chided himself this whole conversation. He knew those damn guards would rat on him and he shouldn't have taken such a direct route to the prisoner. But he was careless and irrational with curiosity and he did not think the visit fully through. Last night when he returned to his bed he thought everything went well, but when he got the early morning phone call from the director herself he knew things hadn't gone as smoothly as he first thought.  
  
"She is seeing things that are not there. Just as she sees someone else's face in yours."  
  
"So then who is this Zack person she speaks of?" He was already in trouble it could not hurt to ask.  
  
"Who knows?" she paused slightly to shrug her shoulders, emphasizing her apparent lack of knowledge, "But I don't want you to see her again. If you do remind her of something in her past then you are impeding the reprogramming process."  
  
"Reprogramming? Who is this prisoner? Is she another X series?"  
  
"She is no longer your concern soldier," she dismissed his questions, "You will not visit her again, is that understood?"  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
"You're curiosity is no longer, understood?"  
  
"Yes ma'am."  
  
"I have given you another day off. You need your rest XI5-603, there is another assignment lined up for you next week, debriefing will take place three days from now. But for now, you are dismissed."  
  
With a quick nod he turned on his heel and left.  
  
*****  
  
His mind still boiled over with questions. Madame Renfro may have told him to forget about it, but he could not do that so easily. Every time he blinked, even for a split second, he could see her fiery eyes looking at him, a hope shining from the depths of her despair. He could not just throw her aside like an old rag.  
  
Was she another X just like himself? In the compound he had been in contact with the X3s, 4s, 6s, and 7s. He always wondered why there were no X-5's. Judging the gap they would have been about his age. There was a section of the compound on the far side that he was never allowed to visit, and though they told him all the X-5's died he always thought they lived there.  
  
Maybe she was one of these X5s. This Max looked about his age… could it be?  
  
When he finally got back to his room, he pulled out his laptop and hooked it up to the phone line. He had never hacked into the Manticore Data Annex before, as he never had the need, but now… he needed to know. Who was this Max? And this Zack person she thought she say in him, who was he? Was he another X-5 as well?  
  
Question after question plagued his mind as his fingers worked the keyboard. He would satiate his curiosity whether the director approved or not.  
  
*****  
  
Logan had only slept for five hours before he woke to once again continue his seemingly never ending search for the elusive Manticore. He knew where it was, and how to locate it, but virtually speaking it was an impenetrable fortress. Long ago he had concluded that there was no way to get in except for direct access from the base itself. But that was out of the question.  
  
Finally a window of opportunity. He almost missed it as a user on the base was trying to access the main files. It seemed that whoever it was, was trying to hack in as well. "I think I got something," he called over to Krit who was the only one left at the warehouse. The others had left to get some food and fresh air.  
  
Krit was at his side with an unnerving speed and stealth. "What is it?"  
  
"I don't know yet, but this person could…" he stopped talking to concentrate on what he was typing. Logan had to do this quickly or miss this opportunity and waste another week… a week they could not afford.  
  
\[init]904432-889[scramble]  
{control}-tactic-leach-link\\ %598085-200  
##FLAG = tracer*run$$constant? HyperTrue  
begin running dl = Manticorefiles.scan  
  
Krit nodded his head, understanding exactly what Logan was trying to do. He meant to "piggyback" onto whoever was hacking into the data annex from the inside. Once linked to that user he unfortunately had no control over where to go, but if he was able to remain hidden long enough while still attached he could gather access codes that would allow him to get past the firewall by himself later.  
  
*****  
  
The hack was easy enough. He used the knowledge he acquired after seven years of training and field experience and it was simple enough. Sometimes he found himself breaking into the most guarded data files in the world just for the fun of it. But never before would he have thought that he would be hacking into Manticore's files.  
  
For being such a secretive and covert government operation their online security was surprisingly weak. Finally he searched for the data on the prisoner in H-16. Max.  
  
*****  
  
Logan leaned back and waited, he was downloading whatever this fellow hacker was accessing as well as the codes. Krit too, loosened up, sitting on the edge of the desk. But both came to attention immediately when they saw the first file that was pulled up. The woman in the picture at the top corner of the screen had pale skin, her eyes were tired, and her hair was limp, but there was no mistaking who it was.  
  
"Max," Logan whispered to himself. He was excited beyond words that she was alive, but to see her in such a state almost broke his heart. What were they doing to her? She would fight them, for as long as she could, this much he knew, but by the way the ever-present passion was gone from her eyes… how much longer would she last?  
  
Unlike Krit, Logan didn't take the time the read the information on her. He could not take his eyes away from Max's face. 'I shouldn't have left you there.'  
  
"Look who we found roaming the streets…" Zane said, his arm around Jondy. But once he entered the door he could feel the tension weigh him down as Logan stared intensely at the screen and Krit gave them only the briefest of glances before he too, turned back to the computer..  
  
"So she is alive." Syl's voice had come from behind them, she used her eagle eye vision to see the screen from across the warehouse. Putting the food down, she too used her speed to get to Logan faster. "Guys," she called over her shoulder to the others, "Check it."  
  
Less than a second later they were all crowding around Logan staring at the screen. Jondy gasped. She could not bare to see Max that way. They had always been closer, what some would consider best friends, and to see her so pale and weak nearly brought Jondy to tears.  
  
*****  
  
Under the notes of prisoner H-16 he saw a twelve digit number. Searching for the number returned one data file.  
  
X5-332960073452 aka "Max"  
  
So she was an X5! He had been lied to his whole life. Why would they do that? Why would they keep him isolated from the X5 like that? He could have worked with them like the X6s and 7s. He could have been part of a team.  
  
Instead he had spent twenty years working alone, training alone, fighting alone.  
  
According to her records Max and many of the others had escaped in May of '09. Which meant there were still X5's on the base. Maybe that Brin girl he had had brief glimpses of was one of them. She too was about the same age.  
  
Now his interest was peaked. At the end of her file before the logs on her reindoctrination, was a strange log entry.  
  
---  
With the help of three other X5's, infiltrated the compound and destroyed one of the southern DNA Lab which contained the X-5 genetics. The loss was great, but with three other DNA labs intact Manticore will survive.'  
---  
  
He had heard of the lab that was destroyed when he returned the other day.  
  
---  
'She was shot by an X7 and brought in flatline. An emergency surgery took place after X5-330417291599 voluntarily donated his heart and she has since recovered nicely.'  
---  
  
*****  
  
"Zack is dead…" Krit had to say it aloud to believe it. "He sacrificed his heart for her…"  
  
"What are you talking about?" Logan did not read as quickly as Krit and was many paragraphs behind.  
  
Krit pointed out the sentence and read it again still not wanting to believe. "Voluntarily donated his heart. He's dead…"  
  
The other X5's read in silence. It was horrible news that met Jondy when she rejoined her family. But she had suspected that a gathering of this magnitude which was a huge risk to all their safety would only be arranged under such dire circumstances.   
  
Their C.O. was dead. The one who vowed to protect them at all costs had paid the ultimate price for one of them. None of them wanted to believe that he was really gone, and the loss threatened to overshadow the relief that Max was alive.  
  
*****  
  
After reading through he whole file XI5-603 searched for the second X5 number. When the file came up he stared at it in disbelief and his breath caught in his throat.  
  
The number was not his. The data was not his. But it was his face.  
  
'What the fuck is going on here?'  
  
Then he read the name: aka "Zack"  
  
Status: Deceased  
  
And it all fell into place. He skimmed through the data but there was no mention of his own designation. This X5-599 was his twin, there was no doubting that, but why would there be no mention of him in this person's file?  
  
Absently, he traced the picture on the screen with his finger. Those were his eyes. That was his jaw. What the fuck was going on here? Was this his clone? Or was he the clone?  
  
Under the name there was a link to video footage of some kind. It was a strange fascination that led him to access the footage.  
  
*****  
  
Logan and the X5s watched in horror as Zack stood over Max's lifeless body and shot himself. Syl's hand made its way to her mouth to cover her shock. Zane shook his head, not wanting to acknowledge Zack's death. Krit studied the footage trying to see if it was doctored at all; looking for any tell tale traces of editing software.  
  
Jondy could feel her knees weaken. She was not the strongest of the bunch by far. Max had always helped her. To this day she didn't understand how she could have survived on her own. If Zack and Max, two of their best, had failed, what hope did she have?  
  
Avery stood like a stone. Watching, believing and accepting Zack's death. They had to move on. If they wanted to save Max or take the others who had not escaped back with them they had to keep their head in the game.  
  
As the others dwelled on the death scene Avery's mind pushed all emotion aside and she became the hard hearted soldier they were all trained to be. Instead of feeling grief for Zack she questioned who exactly this user was that Logan had latched to. Who ever it was was going straight to the information they needed. That couldn't be a coincidence.  
  
*****  
  
It was like watching his own death. Zack's feelings for Max were so strong that he gave her his heart. Maybe something like that was predestined in the genes. Maybe that explains why he couldn't get Max of his mind. This was too much. At the sight of Zack, XI5-603 lost all sense of his identity. For a brief moment, watching X5-599 kill himself, he almost thought that he was dead as well.  
  
If this person had his face and his place among the X5, did that mean that he was a mistake? There were too many questions. His whole existence, something he never thought he would question, was now in doubt.  
Finally, he decided there was only one way to answer this.  
  
//[search*filter] XI5-603  
  
The screen challenged him.  
  
--Access denied. Authorization level 10 needed.--  
  
It was easy enough to get through, he was already hacking at a level 9 security code. And nothing could keep him from the truth this night. But why would his data be in a more secure section than the rest of the X series?  
  
Finally he got in and a cover sheet filled the screen.  
  
XI5  
Experimental In-vitro Gestation Project  
  
The report read:  
  
---  
With the evolving technology of in-vitro fertilization we have found it theoretically within our capabilities to experiment with in-vitro gestation. Our scientists have created a specialized tank that will hold the zygote, which will be encouraged to attach to a specialized lining that will serve as the uterine endoderm…  
One hundred and thirty-eight fertilized genetically spliced eggs were chosen…  
Fifteen of the zygotes successfully attached to the bio-engineered lining. Three hundred percent more than expected…  
Unfortunately ten only made it past the first trimester…  
Three survived "birth"…  
Only one survived past the first three years. Embryo 330417291603 unlike the others has grown and proven to be a strong child…  
In-vitro gestation was deemed a failure, but Manticore has found it in its best interest to continue to pursue this course. The mothers are a factor which must be eliminated. Yet until this technology is refined the surrogate mothers are a necessity. They will be used to create the X5 team.  
XI5-603 will be isolated in the best interests of the future X5s. XI5-603, at the age of four is already too old to be incorporated into the X5 team. As well, there could be difficulties if he were introduced at this stage. He will be trained to work alone and used on solo missions. The only success of the XI5 experiment.  
---  
  
So that was it. That was who he was. XI5 stared at the screen a little longer. He did have a group. At one point he did belong to a family… it's just that they all died. Though he never knew them, he found himself mourning for them.  
  
The next page held all his information and a picture of him which he remembered posing for. Nothing had changed, yet everything had changed.  
  
*****  
  
Too many shocks in too short a time, the X5s despite all their multitasking mental capabilities could barely take it all in.   
  
There was another Zack. No, it wasn't Zack, it was someone who looked like Zack but was probably fully under Manticore control. They had to remember that. They watched Zack die. They would have to remind themselves that if them met this XI5-603 that it was not the person they knew. It was a stranger, an enemy, wearing Zack's body.  
  
Manticore was no doubt going to use the clone to try and break Max down. The thought ran through all their heads. Even Logan understood that was a highly likely possibility.  
  
"How will she fight someone she trusts?" Logan said quietly to himself but they all heard.  
  
Only Avery answered in a voice so cold Logan felt a chill up his spine. But they knew they could not dismiss what she said. "She won't. Max will think it is Zack and she will escape with him. Manticore will let them go with only a little fight. XI5-603 will feign memory loss and Max will lead him to us... We cannot let that happen."  



	4. Identity

---transcend---  
  
chapter4: identity  
  
It was well past lights out and a lonely guard walked through the halls, lazily sweeping his flashlight from side to side. He wasn't frightened of the almost superhuman prisoners held in each room. The whole complex was computer automated and it wasn't like anyone who wasn't there willingly had a way to get out. That is unless they could shoot lasers out of their eyes to pierce through the six inch steel door.  
  
A nervous laugh left his lips. 'Then again who knows what kind of genetic freaks they got in here…' Almost instinctively he felt for his gun. The cool feel of metal on his fingers helped to sooth his nerves but he still found himself quickening his pace toward the hall that held the regular human prisoners.  
  
Finally the guard turned the corner and the glow of his flashlight faded. XI5-603 waited patiently in the air conditioning vent until he could no longer hear the guard's foot prints, even while focusing his hearing. When the guard was out of earshot he pushed the grate out. Careful to place it down on the ground, so as not to make a noise that may have drawn unwanted attention. Moments later he was standing in the hall, staring at the steel door that separated him from Max. What was he doing here? Why did he have this insane urge to clarify to Max who he really was? She was like gravity.  
  
He double checked his watch. He would have a good fifteen minutes before a guard would pass by again. Plenty of time.  
  
From his pocket he produced a small device only slightly larger then a credit card and inserted one end into the keypad outside Max's door. He watched patiently as the numbers on the display rolled by each number taking only a mere second to lock down. The door lock released and the thick door barely creaked open. He kept it closed as he waited a few more seconds for the device to delete its tracks from the record. That done, he pulled it out and placed it back in his pocket.  
  
A quick look to his watch ensured that the camera looping code he had set up was well underway. Excellent.  
  
Upon opening the door he was greeted with a fist to his jaw, and a knee he was barely able to deflect from his groin. Max had been waiting for whoever was opening her cell, and now she was trying to make a break for the open door.  
  
But such a simple hit did nothing to slow XI5-603 down and he grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the cell. He did it with such strength she stumbled and fell to the floor. Regaining himself he stood and watched her get back to her feet, coming at him with a few pitiful punches and a weak kick to his side, all of which he easily blocked. Her coordination was slow and awkward, and her speed and strength were anything but extraordinary. It seems they were still inhibiting her inborn strength with injections of some kind.  
  
Between each of her short bursts of energy to charge through him to the open door, he tried to calm her down with his words.  
  
"I'm here to help you!"  
  
Max paid his words no attention and attacked once more. She was no stronger then an average nineteen year old and he could have dealt with her easily, but he did not want to hurt her. What good would his words be if his actions spoke the opposite? Instead he blocked and parried each of her strikes.  
  
"You're not Zack."  
  
"I'm not pretending to be—" He used the bottom of his foot to push her away.  
  
She stumbled backwards and hit the wall. "They are sending you to me to fool me somehow."  
  
"But I showed you my barcode to prove that I wasn't this Zack," he felt the back of his neck, "Doesn't that mean anything?"  
  
"Then why do you keep wearing his face?"   
  
"If you would just let me explain I…" He did not finish his sentence before she attacked him again. She punched at his face again, but he caught her fist and pushed it back. "I don't want to hurt you…"  
  
Max only responded with a sweeping kick he easily jumped.  
  
'I don't have time for this' he thought to himself. Next, as though it might actually do him harm, she threw her left knee up in the air for momentum, jumping off her right foot then aiming that foot at his face. Again the attack was slow and he caught her foot easily with both his hands and wrenched it to the side, flipping Max to land on her front.  
  
Though she absorbed some of the fall as she was taught with her arms, she still hit pretty hard. Before Max could recover XI5-603 grabbed her wrists together in one of his hands and leaned into her back with his forearm, effectively pinning her down.  
  
Beneath him she fidgeted, a pitiful attempt to break free. "I am XI5-603. The only surviving member of an invitro gestation experiment. My family was supposed to be Manticore's X5 generation, but when I was the only on to live they decided to start again how they had always done it, and brought in the mothers."  
  
He could feel her begin to calm down and in response he lessened the pressure on her back. But just as he was ready to let go completely Max would feel her impending freedom and struggle once more.  
  
XI5-603 leaned into her back again. "I have his exact genetic makeup, but I'm not Zack and I'm not pretending to be."  
  
Again he could feel Max relax but he could not yet tell if it was his words that calmed her down, or her acknowledging that she would not win against him. But he let go of her nonetheless. It took a moment for Max to register that his weight was off him, but when she did she wasted no time crawling to a corner and hugging her knees, just like the night she first saw his barcode.  
  
The only sound to fill the room was her heavy breathing. Her eyes, now only ablaze with a dying ember of a long forgotten fire, stared out at him. Following his every move like a wary animal.  
  
That was it. That is what she acted like. This deprogramming was stripping her down to the most animalistic part of her DNA. Just a moment ago she was fierce and determined, even under such impossible odds, and now she was timid and shaking like a frightened kitten.  
  
He had recovered many people to be indoctrinated, and he knew what happened and what the prisoners go through. He had even taken part in the process. But seeing Max this way made his gut churn. What was it about her that made him want to risk his very life just to see her?  
  
"I brought you some food," he said, pulling some rations out of a pocket. "It's a little dry…" It sounded like he was trying to lighten the mood, but really he was covering. Truthfully he was scared out of his mind to be in her presence. Around her he couldn't be himself. Even being on the same premises as her was wearing away the rough soldier Manticore had built him to be.  
  
Max hesitated at first, never taking her eyes off him, but soon she snatched the food out of his hand. Of course she would, she was starving. It was standard procedure. Still suspicious she sniffed the food, but her hunger overtook her and she bit in.  
  
Looking up she caught him staring at her. After a large gulp which freed her mouth of most of her food, she spoke. "Why would you help me?" she spat out, but this time with less anger. A filling stomach seemed to dull her hate.  
  
"You are the family Manticore has kept me from all my life," he said truthfully. After finding out that he had been separated from what could have been his group, he felt robbed. "For 24 years I have been alone." His voice filled with what could almost be called sadness.  
  
"How is it possible we have never met? This base isn't that large…"  
  
"I…I think one time we have." XI5-603 thought back to a strange incident from the past. "It was back when I was around ten. So you would have been six. It was in the forest at night. I remember a girl, stepping out of the bushes and signaled for me to follow her. I think that was you. I signaled that you should continue without me and that I had things to finish. You nodded and left."  
  
"I think I remember that. I remember Zack made it to the rendezvous point long before me, and I never knew how that was possible."  
  
He smiled, sitting now, leaning against the far wall, "I got a good beating for straying from the planned path."  
  
Max remained silent, chewing on more of the ration he had given her, her eyes studying his face as though trying to find something that would distinguish him from Zack.  
  
After a few unnerving moments the silence was broken by a soft question.  
  
"What is your name?"  
  
"XI5-603."  
  
"That's your designation, but what's your name?"  
  
"I read that the X5 gave each other names. I had no one…"  
  
Her expression finally softened. He could not hide in his voice how he truly wished to have a family to call his own. Before she could muster some sort of comforting words he glanced at his watch and spoke again.  
  
"I have to go, another guard will be passing by soon. I'll try to be back tomorrow … with more food." He stood, making no sudden movements, and peeked out the door. Satisfied there were no guards he turned his head and spoke over this shoulder. "And I think I might know how to get you out of here."  
  
"Wait, I can't just call you XI5-603…"  
  
He was still poised to leave, but he turned his shoulders so he could see her. "What would you call me?"  
  
Max stared at those icy blue eyes. For a brief moment she wished that he had never shown her his barcode. She would have been happy to believe that he was Zack. But Max knew that was foolish.  
  
Now here he was asking her to give him a name. She didn't have to think too long.  
  
"Evan," she put the name out timidly, afraid he might be disgusted by the name, "for Eva. Zack would have wanted it."  
  
He only agreed to take on a name to satisfy Max, he himself never thought it would be strange to call someone by their designation. But he didn't realize how he would feel to be given a name. "Then my name is Evan." It was like somehow, he finally belonged. He was no longer alone.  
  
*****  
  
The next morning the X5 gathered around Lydecker who was still strapped to an old rusty hospital bed, blindfolded. Avery, standing to Lydecker's right, went straight to business pulling out a Colt M1911A and releasing the safety so Lydecker would hear.  
  
"Well Deck," she began, taking full control of this interrogation, "Tell us what you know."  
  
"I've told you everything you need—"  
  
Avery pulled her left fist back and punched him across his face before he could finish his sentence, then pushed her gun against his temple. "So it must have slipped your mind that there were three other DNA labs?!"  
  
"I only knew of the—"  
  
Avery cut him off again. "That's fucking bullshit." She pulled back her fist again.  
  
"Avery, calm down," Jondy, who was standing beside her, put a hand on Avery raised arm. "He won't be able to tell us what we need if his jaw is broken."  
  
Jondy maintained a straight face despite the wicked scowl Avery threw her way. She backed down, lowering her arm and placed the gun none too gently back on Lydecker's temple.  
  
"We wanna know everything this time Lydecker." Syl spoke up this time.  
  
"What more do you need?"  
  
Avery leaned down to Lydecker's ear, "I want every access code in that squishy little head of yours."  
  
"What does it—"  
  
Avery used her free hand and wrapped it around his neck, "That doesn't sound like a combinations of alphanumerics to me."  
  
Krit looked to his sister, "Avery, enough! He's turning blue."  
  
Avery eyes shot icicles his way, her hand still gripping Deck's neck. "Why are you all going anti-pain on me here? You know who this is right? You remember what he did to us, don't you?"  
  
Lydecker's voice was strained as he forced out the words. "I've gone AWOL remember? Manticore would have wiped me from their database by now, which includes my access to anything and everything."  
  
Avery let go in disgust as though she had just touched a rotting carcass. "Then tell me everything else. Who will be on base and when, weak points in your security," she pulled off the twist of fabric that was covering his eyes, so he could see as well as hear how serious she was, "And I hope for your sake I believe you."  
  
The hatred in her eyes and her gun still pressed to his head, he had a gut wrenching feeling that she was beyond serious now.  
  
"Tell me what you need," he said, knowing that after withholding the information about the other DNA labs he had lost what little of Syl and Krit's trust he had gained. He would have no chance of survival unless he fully cooperated. And if Avery was still as good at interrogations as she was when she was nine, he would not be able to hide anything.  
  
Krit wanted a turn. "Where in Seattle is the safe terminal that links to Manticore's Data Annex."  
  
Lydecker closed his eyes, he scraped the recesses of his mind to try and recall the location of the computer that was directly linked to the data annex, meaning there would be no firewall to surpass, "I can't remem—"  
  
Avery couldn't stand watching Lydecker fumble with his words and lifted the Colt M1911A from his head. "Try." She said and faster then any of her super human siblings could react, she aimed her gun at Deck's leg and pulled the trigger. A solitary bullet pierced Deck's skin, and his scream of pain rivaled the ringing in their ears from the gunshot. No one knew how to react to that sudden show of violence.  
  
"You shouldn't have done that." Zane said rather blandly, his german sheppard was spooked, and was now lightly whining at his feet. Calmly he ripped some of the bedspread and tied off the wound to slowdown some of the bleeding. He wasn't at all surprised Avery would resort to such drastic measures so early in the interrogation. He saw in her eyes that she was just barely holding onto her civility. It must have taken all her will power to not send a bullet through his skull. And if she did that, well, he feared for her soul. Avery looked like she was about ready to cross that line and embrace the killer inside her. And it was that part of themselves, more then Manticore, that all the X5 have been running from.  
  
"That's why I did it little brother. He taught us everything we know, we need to mix it up a little." She turned back to Lydecker who was now struggling with his restraints, his breathing became hoarse. "How's your memory?"  
  
"I think…an internet café … the I-Bar… on fifth and Main." He managed to speak, despite his jaw being clenched in pain. "back corner… by the fireplace should give you direct access."  
  
"Do you see what kind of game I'm playing here? Now tell me when the X7's will be gone from the base."  
  
"Next week, virtually no one except for a few X4's and X3's. I swear it."  
  
There was no violent reaction from Avery this time as she could tell Lydecker was telling the truth, at least to the best of his knowledge. Getting Krit, or even Logan to that computer terminal would confirm that soon enough.  
  
"I'm done with him. Anyone got any questions? Because now's the time to ask." Avery offered.  
  
Krit spoke in a steady and even tone. "Who are the XI5?"  
  
"How did—"  
  
"It doesn't matter how we found out. Are they stronger or faster then us?"  
  
"But they are dead. I saw them all die…" Lydecker's whole body slumped, it was like he was so lost in his thoughts he forgot all about the pain.  
  
"He's telling the truth," Avery put in, amused that Deck was kept in the dark about this.  
  
"At least one survived, XI5-603. Didn't you know?" Krit was taken aback by Lydecker's lack of knowledge  
  
"They told me he had died… They showed me his body." He was like a father learning that a long thought dead son was still alive. He had felt betrayed by Manticore before but this was too much. He had poured his heart and soul into the XI5, and when they died he had fallen into a deep depression. To find out one had in fact survived was almost too much.  
  
Only Avery did not soften at the obvious distress and sadness in Lydecker's voice.  
  
"They are no stronger. You have the exact same genetic make-up save for the barcodes on your necks."  
  
"That's all we need to hear." Syl called an end to the interrogation. "I'll go with Zane and get Logan to that terminal. Krit, Jondy, Avery, you stay here and wait for a download."  
  
Avery pushed Deck's temple harshly with her gun before pulling it back and placing it into its holster. She could feel her heart thrumming for revenge, how simple it would be just to shoot him right here.  
  
As the others turned and walk away, she stood there staring at this demon, trying to bore into his skull with her gaze.  
  
*****  
  
They were well away from the body, all of them seeming to relax more the further they got from Lydecker. Krit and Jondy made their way to the upper level, while Syl and Zane headed for Logan who was sitting on the sidelines typing away at something on his computer.  
  
"Logan, Jondy was right, there was a terminal in Seattle. You should be able to hack in easily with no firewa—"  
  
"No!" Avery's scream startled them all. Her voice was filled with fear.  
  
Behind them for the second time in so many minutes, the thunder of a gunshot echoed eerily in the abandoned warehouse.  



	5. Crossing Lines

---transcend---  
  
chapter5: crossing lines  
  
The others walked away but Avery could not bring herself to tear away from Lydecker. He had begun to shake slightly, and a cold sweat was developing on his brow. She wished he would just die.  
  
She would have pulled her gun out and shot him right there, but she knew her siblings would not approve. So instead she stood and watched him, praying that his blood loss would be so severe he would go into shock and die.  
  
Lydecker opened his eyes once more and turned his head to stare back at her. For the first time she saw emotions staring back at her from Lydecker's cold eyes. She saw a sorrow that must come when he realized all the years that were lost with his XI5. And she also saw a mixture of hope that he might once again see what he had first created.   
  
But there was also something else. He was looking at her in a strange way. With a sort of joy edging his sorrow. A barely perceptible smile could be seen on his lips, and Avery clenched her jaw at the sight. 'What was this fuck smiling about?'  
  
Avery couldn't stand it anymore. If she couldn't kill him then she didn't want to be anywhere near him. Slowly, as though turning her back on a venomous snake, she began to walk away.  
  
Lydecker made the mistake of thinking she could not hear. "You're everything I could have hoped for," he gently whispered.  
  
Avery heard every syllable. To hear him say those words shook her to the core. She didn't want to believe that she could be anything like what Manticore wanted. But deep down she knew how cold and heartless she was. It was all she ever knew, the only way she knew how to live, she didn't know how to, or even if she could change that. But to hear Lydecker say that… Her hands trembled with fear. What she did next was reflexive.  
  
"No!" she screamed as she turned around and pulled her gun out in one smooth motion. The look of surprise and fear on his face remained as the bullet pierced his forehead, killing him instantly.  
  
Tears brimmed her eyes as she stood in shock of what she had just done. Her arm was still straight, though wracked with small tremors, the smoking gun still pointed at Lydecker's head. What had she done? In her fear of becoming something she did not want to be, she had just sealed her fate.   
  
Confirming his words with a bullet.  
  
Coming out of her daze she finally heard the others running back toward her. Blinking her eyes she pulled back the tears and returned her expression to that of bloodless stone.  
  
"Avery!" Zane was the first to reach her side.  
  
She pulled the gun down and back into its holster beneath her jacket so that they would not see her shaking.  
  
"He said he knew nothing more. He was useless anyways…" She looked at each of them, daring them to question her. None showed fear, none showed hatred, but their faces showed something much worse. Disappointment.  
  
Yet none spoke out against her and she herself didn't want to show weakness. They were all different and strong in their own way. Confident in themselves and the new lives they had formed for themselves, becoming individuals. They wouldn't understand.  
  
"I'll hotwire a car tonight and dump his body in the sewer." Avery said coldly as she untucked the sheets underneath the body and flipped them over creating a makeshift body bag.  
  
One by one they began to walk away, trying to return to their normal conversations.  
  
Avery looked at the bloody pile of sheets, then turned to the kitchen for some food. She was hungry.  
  
*****  
  
The next morning Refro had called Evan into her office and handed him another quick assignment. Assassination in Washington. By the time the first rays of darkness crawled into the sky, Evan was sitting in a car up the hill from the large estate which was the residence of his target. He didn't look suspicious as he had a map all unfolded like a seemingly confused tourist. Beneath the map, on his legs, lay his sniper rifle. There was no need to be sneaky with binoculars, as he dilated his pupils and looked into the house.  
  
He could see straight into the kitchen. For such a large front lawn with a winding road, it was a cozy sized home. There didn't seem to be maids or butlers as both the target and her husband, and their two children helped set the table for a late dinner. As they sat down it was a clear shot to the target's head… but Evan couldn't bring himself to lift his rifle. The family was talking. One was a teenager about the age that the X7s were now, and she looked thoroughly unimpressed at her parents as they tried to ask her about her day no doubt. The younger looked to be in kindergarten and was cheerily adding to the conversation.  
  
Evan watched them as they ate. Watching them interact with each other. A family. It seemed too soon as they all parted ways, all heading in their own directions for the evening. Only the target remained, as she sat down at the cleared table and rested her head in her hands.  
  
She had no warning except for the shattering glass, that her life was about to end.  
  
As Evan disassembled his gun and stored it under the passenger seat, he watched as the family came together once again.  
  
His mission complete he drove back to the rendezvous point to be taken back to Manticore. Behind him he could hear the screams of the children as they found their mother dead on the dining room table.  
  
*****  
  
"Why did I kill her?"  
  
"Who?" Renfro played ignorant.  
  
"The woman I was sent to kill no more then four hours ago."  
  
"Why would you ask?"  
  
"Because I saw her family find her dead. I heard their screams…"  
  
"And why would you care? You have killed countless humans with everything from a bullet to a bomb. They all more then likely had families." She paused and let that fact soak in. "XI5-603. Do I have to remind you that your curiosity isn't an asset."  
  
"No ma'am." He straightened and stared at a point on the wall in front of him. He had been called XI5-603 all his life, but it never sounded so evil as when Renfro spoke it.  
  
All day he quietly spoke his new name. Evan. Before last night, he never heard how harsh XI5-603 sounded, but compared to Evan, he liked his new name better.  
  
"This wouldn't have anything to do with the prisoner you met the other day would it?"  
  
Evan stood even straighter, "No ma'am."  
  
Renfro's eyes became slits as she studied him, then she turned her back on him to stare out the window into the night. She had never done that to him before, and he stood behind confused. "I want you to report to intense training for the next two weeks."  
  
She paused, letting him just listen to the silence before her voice broke it once more. "And I don't want you to see any of our prisoners. You are dismissed."  
  
*****  
  
Refro stood there for a long time, staring out onto the extensive compounds that were Manticore. A long time later she pulled a small cell phone out of her pocket.  
  
"Janis, sorry to wake you. But tomorrow I want you to step up the process on prisoner H-16."  
  
"We are already working her pretty hard. are you sure that would be safe."  
  
"She is strong, she can take it and survive."  
  
"But you must know, moving any faster may completely fry her brain so to speak."   
  
"Will we still be able to reprogram her?"  
  
"Well yes, but-"  
  
"I don't care if she becomes a vegetable, I want her up and operational yesterday."  
  
*****  
  
In less then a minute, Zane got them into the "I Bar". He bypassed the alarm and picked the lock with ease.  
  
Logan looked at him, "A little to good at that?"  
  
"I can't feed myself and my dog with the salary I get at the garage…" He shrugged his shoulders as he held the door open for them. "Jaxx," he made eye contact with his German Sheppard, "Keep watch." As he gave the command he put two fingers out infront of each of his eyes and pulled them away again. The dog understood immediately and sat down, turning its back to the door and focusing it's ears down both sides of the alley.  
  
They were all decked out in black, and aside from the slight whirring sounds coming from the servo motors in Logan's exoskeletan, they did not make a sound. Not that it really mattered. Upon a quick inspection, Syl and Zane found that there were no other security devices like cameras or motion detectors and their slow creep became a confidently lazy stride to the back corner of the café.  
  
Zane pushed the power button, and the computer came to life, the screen flickering on. He stood tall and raised his arms, the blue light from the screen shined on him in the night, bathing him in a eerie light, "It's alive! It's alive!"  
  
Syl laughed and hit him in the gut with the back of her hand, "Watching too much late night Space Channel are we?"  
  
"Well how do you fill our genetic insomiac nights?" he asked, turning on another computer beside the one Logan was already typing away at.  
  
Syl, too, bent down and turned on another computer, partially to hide her blush, "Discovery channel and Life network."  
  
"Yeah, but Life just teaches you how to make your house all pretty and cook a gourmet meal—"  
  
Zane stopped short, Logan was glaring glaciers at them. It was obvious he needed to concentrate and their talking wasn't helping. "Sorry," they both said in unison and sat down, waiting, in silence, for their computers to finish booting up.  
  
Fifteen minutes later Logan had hacked into the computer database and was already downloading stuff to send back to Krit at the warehouse.  
  
At the same time Syl accessed her e-mail and quietly flagged Zane over to read a particularly funny one.  
  
Zane could not help but laugh out loud, breaking the vow of silence, "That has to be Lydecker! He is probably the only person in the world who could bend over and stick his head up his own—"  
  
"How can you do it?" Logan turned his chair and was staring incredulously at them. He had startled them both.  
  
"Do what?" Syl asked confused with his rage.  
  
"Be so light hearted at a time like this. Zack is dead; Max has been in there for over a week and who knows if she's reverted back to a soldier; and there is a Zack doppelganger that is probably going to use her to get to the rest of you. How can you joke around like nothing is happening?"  
  
"Woah, ease up guy…" Zane put his hands up in submission.  
  
Syl shook her head, her voice somber, "Logan. You may not understand, but this is all we have known. Living our whole childhoods at Manticore, we have seen brothers and sisters dragged away and killed because of an imperfection the doctors hadn't anticipated, something fully beyond our control. We have been experimented on, our bones broken our bodies mutilated, and all the while we couldn't scream because it was considered weak."  
  
Syl made a brief eye contact with Zane before lowering her eyes again and continuing her explanation. "And even being free we actually aren't. Continuously on the run at a moment's notice because Manticore might knock on our door, or the doors of the ones we have grown close to," she raised her eyes to meet Logan's. "How else are we supposed to live with it all?"  
  
That said, the mood in the room came crashing down. Logan understood her point and turned back to his computer, continuing to pull up files to download and send to Krit.  
  
No one dared laugh again that night.  
  
*****  
  
Cam finally joined Krit and Jondy at the warehouse. They were thankful for his presence. Like Avery, he was one of the older of the group who had learned about planning missions, rather then just how to execute them.  
  
"Looks like I'm late. M'bad," an apology was the first thing that came out of his mouth as they came down to greet him. "Damn police stopped me at the check point because they picked out that my id was fake…I need a new guy."  
  
After all the pleasantries, Jondy gave him the low down as krit went back to trying to decrypt all the files Logan was sending him. Cam didn't seem at all surprised. All he did was rest his chin in his fist and nod his head. Even when he heard that Zack was dead, and that there was a clone, he took it all in a calm, thoughtful look on his face. It was obvious he was planning something behind those almost black eyes.  
  
Cam stood up again and paced the floor, with a soldier like gait. "So who is here? We have you two, me, Syl, Zane and Jaxx—"  
  
"You would list me after a German Sheppard, brother?" Avery had returned from dumping Lydecker's body and was just walking in the door.  
  
"There she is." Cam leaned over the railing. "I heard about some things you did before I got here. I'm hurt … you didn't wait for me."  
  
There was a flicker of sadness in her eyes, but no one noticed. "Would you have been able to wait?"  
  
"Touché" he nodded his head.  
  
Krit and Jondy, both younger then these two by just under three years, looked at each other. Both had dreamed of Lydecker dead, but talking as casually about it as they were, was bordering on sick.  
  
*****  
  
It was all the same as the night before as Evan snuck into Max's cell. He brought extra rations this time so she could eat while he wasn't there. He knew intense training meant that the instructors would trade off, and they would work him for both day and night. There was a good chance that he wouldn't see her for a few days and he wanted her to stay strong.  
  
They talked for as long as they dared about anything and everything they could think of. Mostly he asked her questions about the others, about life outside of Manticore's rules. He would watch her as she laughed, reminiscing about things her friends had done.  
  
Both were blissfully unaware of what horrors awaited Max, all under Refro's order. 


	6. The Breakdown

---transcend---  
  
chapter6: the breakdown  
  
Much to Krit's surprise it took him all night until late morning the next day for both him and Logan to sort the data dump from last night's little excursion. After that there was the problem of decrypting it, which all seven of them spent another good portion of the day doing. Apparently it was all like a puzzle each file consisting of several incomplete pieces, each encrypted in its own special algorithm. They would have expected no less from files hacked straight from Manticore's data annex.  
  
Finally they got it all together and layouts of the base were printed out. Cam and Avery stared at the blueprints trying to figure out the best plan of attack while the others quickly sorted through the mission files. They not only needed to know the how but also the when.  
  
Cam stood on one side of the table. He was decked out in a black turtleneck and black pants all matching his black leather shoulder holster. He crossed his arms and stared at the blue prints with his intense grey eyes. In his mind's eye he envisioned small trees, he pictured the fence and mini buildings and he even saw small versions of themselves running about. As he stood, completely still except for his darting eyes, his mind ran the little models of them through scenario after scenario trying to figure the best way to get in, destroy the three remaining DNA labs and get Max out of their. Every scenario he could think of ended with at least one casualty on their side. Not good.  
  
Across from him, Avery was almost his mirror image. All in black, her gun close to her side, arms crossed, staring at the blueprints with the same intense concentration. All the plans she formulated in her mind also ended with the same results. There was a good chance some of them wouldn't make it. If only they had a contact on the inside that could help them. That would tip the scales and they would all be able to get out of there.  
  
Of the others only Zane sat silently watching them plot. He had a few ideas of his own but he knew he was severely inexperienced with that type of thing and kept quiet, petting Jaxx idly.  
  
After an hour of staring Cam finally broke the silence. "The perimeter is tight, and will probably be even more so since our last assault."  
  
"Some of us should divert their attentions." Avery's suggestion was more a question.  
  
"Easiest tactic but that would be a waste of our resources. There are only six of us going in there and that alone is a stretch."  
  
"If we attack from all sides we will break their defenses into more reasonable chunks."  
  
Cam looked at the blueprints and ran through the scenario. "Reasonable but bloody."  
  
"Bloody means less of Manticore survives," Avery said coldly.  
  
Cam looked up and made eye contact with his sister. "Bloody means less of us survive."  
  
Avery was about to defend her plan, but held her tongue. What would the point of a rescue mission be if they lost their own lives in the process?  
  
Seeing Avery back down Cam looked again at the blueprints and furrowed his eyebrows in concentration. "What if we combine those tactics…"  
  
After a few moments, Cam called over his shoulder, "Logan."  
  
"Yeah?" Logan looked up from his computer.  
  
Without turning to face him Cam spoke, "You can hack into the surveillance systems correct?"  
  
"I've done it before."  
  
"Then you can you also get access to their alarm systems?"  
  
"Shouldn't be that hard..."  
  
"Good. I want you to set off the alarms."  
  
"Wha-" Logan wasn't a military man, he couldn't understand why Cam would want to do such a thing. Avery was the first to understand, followed closely by the rest of the X5 who were now gathering around the table. Logan, ever refusing to be left out like some civilian, joined them.  
  
"We will jump the fences and wait here, here and here. Cue Logan who will set off perimeter alarms here, here and here," Cam pointed to the appropriate spots, "With multiple perimeter breaches they will think there is an all out attack and will drain their defenses. That will give us time to get in and out. Avery, Syl, you'll come through here and take out the largest DNA lab."  
  
Avery and Syl both nodded in unison, satisfied Cam continued. "Zane, you're with me, we'll come through this way," Cam pointed at the blueprints and followed a snaking trail past the perimeter and through the buildings. "We'll be after the two smaller labs. And you may want to bring Jaxx if you think he is up for it."  
  
Jaxx stood to attention at hearing his own name.  
  
Cam raised his eyebrow at the dog. "We could always use the backup."  
  
"He always loves a new game." Zane smiled, scratching his dog behind the ear. Though he never even dreamed the day would come, he had trained his dog for situations like this. Jaxx had willingly and happily taken on the roll of the X5 in Zane's life, even the not so pleasant aspects. Just like a police dog, Jaxx thought it all a game with a good belly rub at the end if he played it well.  
  
"Jondy, Krit, you're going in after Max. Stay low. The compound Max will be held in will, no doubt, be the most heavily guarded area. Position yourselves here," Cam tapped at a spot beside the target building, "With the explosives in place and us already on our way out, Logan will again set off the alarms, this time closer to the DNA labs. They'll no doubt figure out that the first alarms were just decoys and that we are really after their DNA labs. It is highly likely that they will flock to the labs, hopefully calling for backup which will have to be drawn from your building. During the commotion you get in, get Max and get out. Shoot down anything or anyone in your way."  
  
"How are we going to get in the labs?" Syl asked, "We don't have many stray eyeballs hanging about."  
  
"With Logan distracting the masses we should have more time to use more conventional tactics."  
  
Avery spoke up next. "We also need to watch for XI5-603. Remember, he may have Zack's face, but he isn't Zack."  
  
Cam nodded his head, "If there is a non-lethal way to leave him behind do so, but if he or anyone begins to follow us out … shoot to kill."  
  
Avery was somewhat relieved that she wasn't the one to voice that course of action.  
  
"And what if we meet up with any other X5?" Jondy had to ask.  
  
"They belong to Manticore. Even Brin. Do what is necessary." Cam gave the answer they all didn't want to hear. The room filled with a mournful silence as if in prayer for the siblings who were lost to Manticore.  
  
"Have we figured the best time frame?" asked Avery, finally breaking the silence.  
  
"Four days from now," Krit relayed their results.  
  
"Four days it is." Cam nodded his head.  
  
*****  
  
It was only the first day and they had pushed him to beyond even his super human limits. Handstand pushups, full out sprinting for hours, swimming laps with only one breath were just a few of his challenges... And if he were to falter in any way, lose his balance, stumble when he ran, take a breath before twenty laps, he would be severely beaten for it.   
  
The training did not only strain his physical self but his mental state as well. They held him in a large warehouse that could almost be described as a huge black cube. It was completely dark inside save for the spot lights that shined in his eyes and the occasion strobe light that would make him feel dizzy and light headed. All around him was the constant sound of war. The harsh sounds of gunfire and explosions assaulted his ears, while they kept spraying him with water to keep him cold and wet to almost the point of hypothermia.  
  
Evan had done this four times before but it never got any easier.  
  
Currently his body was perfectly vertical in the air as he raised and lowered himself. His waterlogged fatigues did nothing but weigh him down and cling to his skin uncomfortably.  
  
"Faster!" one yelled as Evan began to slow. His genetically enhanced muscles were already burning with lactic acid. Though Evan tried to pick up his rate to his normal speed, they did not deem his efforts worthy.  
  
Evan ground his teeth and grunted in pain as they pulled out their tazers and sent waves of electricity through his body. Normally he would have been able to ignore the pain, push it all aside to complete an objective, but his mind was so exhausted he barely knew ground from sky.  
  
Much to the drill sergeant's plan Evan lost his balance and fell to the ground.  
  
"Get up!" They all barked, and kicked with their steal toed boots until he was finally able to fumble around and get back into the handstand position.  
  
It had only been 12 hours and he was already spitting up blood. He was too far away to hear Max's screams echo down the halls of the indoctrination building.  
  
*****  
  
That night Max was brought back to her cell. They prodded her along like she was some sort of cattle, annoyed that she wouldn't move faster even though they knew her whole body was sore from the day's torture. They were lucky they weren't carrying her to her bed.  
  
She stood in the room until she heard the door shut and the guards walk away talking about how she smelled like charred flesh. When they were finally past the far corner she collapsed on the bed. Never before had she endured such pain. It had almost pushed her over the edge.  
  
When Logan didn't come to rescue her that night, and Evan, too, had not come to comfort her she could think of nothing else to do but cry.  
  
*****  
  
The next day they took her out of her cell to the indoctrination building and strapped her down once more. She almost lost it right then and there when she saw them attaching the wires to her forehead and temples.  
  
"The shock therapy is not working." One man said to the other as they watched their subject scream on the other side of the soundproof window. "She screams, but it seems to be purely superficial. She feels the pain, and it looks as though she may be mentally faltering, but it does not seem to be affecting her brainwaves. It will take longer-"  
  
"Renfro wants this done and she wants it done now."  
  
"Then drastic measures need to be taken."  
  
"You are given artistic license, doctor, to do what is necessary to make this X5 operative again."  
  
The doctor accepted his assignment with a curt nod.  
  
*****  
  
Max was just barely able to lift her head. The shocking had stopped for more then a minute now and she heard the door open. Her eyes were virtually useless, everything was enveloped in a insubstantial haze. She could only make out the barest of silhouettes and she wouldn't have even thought it a real human had she not heard the shuffling footsteps. She wouldn't have known they had brought in a cart had she not heard the quiet squeaking of wheels that would soon need oil.  
  
The day before had drained her of all her strength. That is what little of it had remained since they had shot her up with whatever inhibiting drug they deemed worthy. Yet despite this when she heard the liquid squirt out of a needle and the man tell those around him to hold her down, she struggled fiercely. Giving a last ditch effort for a freedom she knew was beyond her reach.  
  
But the men were too strong and held her down firmly. She felt a small prick in her arm. It felt like a feather brushing upon her skin compared to what she had barely endured earlier.  
  
She was happy they had stopped the shocks when they did. Max was that close to giving up. Her mind was that close to shutting down, ready and willing to be programmed to Manticore's desire. All she clung to now was a faint vision of Logan in her mind. Since the moment she had awakened from what she thought was sure death and found herself face to face with Renfro she had promised herself she would return to him.  
  
And Evan. She would bring Evan back with her. For Zack and Eva and all the others, she would free Evan.  
  
Finally the needle withdrew from her body and she felt her muscles slacken.  
  
It was unsettling that she could feel each of her muscles loosen. Her mouth opened slightly as her jaw muscles relaxed. Her shoulders slumped first, then her whole body, muscle by muscle, became relaxed.  
  
When the darkness began to consume her she thought for a moment that they were slowly pulling a cloth over her eyes to block the intense glare of the surgical lights hanging over her. But then she realized that it was her own eyelids lazily closing.  
  
Max tried to fight it, tried to pry her own eyes open and see what they were doing but it was no use. It was as though her whole body had fallen asleep yet her mind was fully awake and fully aware.  
  
She could see red as the light shined through her eyelids.  
  
She could smell her own drying sweat.  
  
She could taste the blood from the wound she had chewed into the side of her own cheek.  
  
Then Max came to a sickening realization. They had paralyzed her. The only question was: What reason would they have to do such a thing? It was a question to which she hoped she would never find the answer  
  
Unfortunately she would have no such luck.  
  
She could feel the shackles that held her down loosen.  
  
Her heart raced as she could feel her freedom but was denied by her sleeping body. They had imprisoned her in her own body.   
  
She could feel the ice touch of air as they pulled her shirt up and over her head.  
  
She could hear their movements all around her and the one order that was spoken.  
  
"Prepare her abdomen."  
  
She could feel the sharp coolness on her belly as a liquid was swabbed on in rhythmic circles. She would have gasped if she could but again her body remained still, like a corpse in a morgue.  
  
They wouldn't…please God no…  
  
When she was young she had endured many things. She was even awake to watch as they broke her bones to see how quickly she would heal. But at least then she was able to scream and struggle against her restraints. Even if it was only a mental thing, knowing she was at least trying to fight them helped sooth the pain. But now, trapped in her own body she could not so much as blink to protest this violation of her body.  
  
Max would have told them whatever it was they wanted to hear, said what ever it was they wanted her to say, believed whatever it was they wanted her to believe, but in her state she didn't even have the chance to cave in to their demands.  
  
"Scalpel."  
  
She could feel the blade tear through her skin.  
  
*****  
  
The next day Syl, Krit and the rest of the X5s paired up and went through the all the back alleys and shady pawnshops of Seattle hoarding weapons, ammunition and explosives for the battle. All the locations were courtesy of the informant net.  
  
After loading the car with the latest haul Jondy flipped open her cell and dialed Logan's number.  
  
"How did it go?" Logan asked once he picked up the phone.  
  
"We got what we needed. Wasn't too hard. Where to next?"  
  
"Ah…"  
  
Jondy could hear him typing in the background.  
  
"About twenty blocks away on 6th and Anderson. There is an alley behind the convenience store. From what I can gather there is usually a guy lurking around there that has connections."  
  
"We're there," she said and then relayed the location to Cam when she stepped into the car.  
  
It took less then five minutes to get to where Logan had directed them.  
  
"What do you want?" he asked menacingly, trying to sound bigger then he knew he looked. As they approached Jondy realized that he was a good head shorter then Cam, who was intimidating enough with his strong build.  
  
"We're looking for some guns, preferably semi automatics," Jondy came straight out with it.  
  
"I don't carry that shit."  
  
"Well Benjamin here thinks you do." Cam pulled out the huge wad of cash that Logan had given them, and waved the bills in front of the man's now star struck eyes. It had been a stretch for Logan to finance the operation since he had lost his trust fund, but when it was for Max he was willing to do anything, even break into an internet bar to get some files.  
  
"Yeah," the guy calmed down a bit at the sight of the money and walked them over to a car parked down further into the alley. He popped the trunk and before them lay a large assortment of weapons. Some involving gun powder, some not.  
  
"Excellent," Cam nodded as he eyed the guns.  
  
Jondy didn't how to react when Cam suddenly moved quick as lightning. When once he was standing in front of the man, Cam was behind him now with his arms snaked around the man's neck. It was a quick struggle before the man was deprived of enough oxygen to knock him out for a couple hours.  
  
"What was that for? We had the money, we could have done this legit," Jondy asked as she helped her brother carry the weapons back to their own stolen car.  
  
"You want to fund a jack ass like that who sells guns and drugs out of his fucking trunk. Come on Jondy…"  
  
"I suppose," she rubbed her arm unconsciously then stopped herself. She hated how she felt so weak and indecisive when she was around some of the other X5 like Cam or Avery.  
  
Returning to the trunk for another armful, Cam stepped over the limp man and paused in mid-stride, sniffing the air. He stepped back and kneeled down, rolling the man onto his back.  
  
"What are you doing now?" Jondy asked nervously as she tucked a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear.  
  
"This is the best shit I've ever smelt," Cam said. From the man's pocket he pulled out a plastic bag full of plastic bags full of weed. He held it close to his nose and inhaled deeply. "Nice," he sighed before he tucked it into his own pocket and resumed course to the trunk.  
  
Jondy looked away, pretending not to be bothered by Cam's actions.  
  
*****  
  
On the night of the second day, they finally gave Evan a six hour break. Risking exhaustion he ignored his body and again went to Max's cell, bearing not only food and drink but good news.  
  
Again he waited for the guard to pass and again he hacked the electronic lock, besides his lack of energy everything went as it always did, but he was surprised at what he saw when he opened the door.  
  
Max was always awake, and when his visits became regular she had actually waited up for him. But now she was lying on her side on the bed, her back turned to him. He was about to turn around and leave her be, it was obvious that she needed her rest to withstand whatever rigors she was put through during the day. He was about to but he didn't.  
  
In two days there would be a window of opportunity to escape and with his training schedule he didn't know if and when there would be another time he could tell her.  
  
He set down the bag in which he carried the food and water, next to the bed and leaned over her.  
  
"Max…" he whispered.  
  
She did not respond.  
  
"Max," he said it a little louder this time, and yet there was no response.  
  
Gently, still hesitant to disturb her much needed sleep, he lay a hand on her shoulder and lightly pulled. His eyes widened in horror as she rolled onto her back with not much effort at all. Her cloudy eyes were wide open staring blankly ahead, focusing through the ceiling and past the stars. On her stomach were spots of blood that must have seeped through the bandages that he could now see beneath her hospital gown.  
  
She looked dead if not for the barely perceptible movement of her chest rising and falling.  
  
"No…." he whispered as he pushed her hair, slick with cold sweat, to the side with his fingers. "Maxie…" He didn't know why he called her Maxie, but it felt so natural.  
  
Evan sat there and stared at her, stroking her hair and running the back of his hand tenderly down her cheek. 'I should have gotten you out of here a long time ago…I'm so sorry.'  
  
As if in response to his touch her body roused ever so slightly. "Evan." His name was carried on a vague breeze that left her lips.  
  
"Maxie, I'm sorry…"  
  
"Evan…"  
  
After retrieving his bag he pulled her limp body up and sat behind her, propping her head to rest against his shoulder. Using one hand to hold her still, he used the other to reach into the bag and pull out a water bottle which he held up to her lips. Even swallowing seemed too much of an effort for her as most of the water dribbled out of her mouth.  
  
"I can't make it…" she whimpered leaning fully into his warmth.  
  
"Please Maxie, you have to hold on. Two more days and I'll get you out of this hell. Hold on for just two more days."  
  
In his arms, he could feel her shivering and, despite his training, Evan shed tears of anger and guilt. Emotions he never knew he had before Max had entered his life.  
  



	7. Descent into Hell

---transcend---  
  
chapter7: Descent into Hell  
  
For the next six hours of his break, not caring that he risked exhaustion, Evan stayed by her side. Every fifteen minutes he reluctantly lay her down and crouched just below the small window in the door, just out of sight of the guard that would pass. He hoped that no one would notice that the cameras had been looping all this while.  
  
Thankfully the inhibiting agent that repressed her feline strength did nothing to slow down her healing factor. When he tended to her wounds, Evan could almost sit back and watch them bind themselves shut. It was obvious her body would be fine but what of her mind?  
  
For the first two hours after saying she couldn't make it, Max was almost a zombie. She stared lazily off in space, the only hint to her humanity was a constant stream of tears that seemed to bleed from her eyes. Every once in a while she would mutter something he could never quite catch, but he spoke back anyways, telling her of his days like they were talking at a dinner table. Evan didn't know what else to do. Or even if there was anything else he could do.  
  
Studious in his efforts, never willing to give up on her, Evan kept Max's face free from the ever-present cold sweat and made sure she ate and drank. In her silence he retold her own stories as he remembered them, laughing just as she laughed when he pictured the character Sketchy doing some stupid stunt, or the pranks the Jam Pony crew pulled on Normal. He even told her about Logan and the story of how she came crashing into Logan's life. Evan didn't know if it would help, but he had to fill the void somehow.  
  
Soon Max's body took the liquids and nourishment and used them to heal itself. Max was quickly gaining her strength and by the fourth hour she was speaking normally, though what she said was quite discouraging.  
  
"In two days the base will be virtually tapped out. Everyone will be on assignment, giving us a window of opportunity to-" he stopped mid-sentence, sensing that she wanted to speak.  
  
"I-I'm so weak…" she said feebly, refusing to make eye contact with Evan.  
  
"But you're gaining your strength, your wounds are healing."  
  
"No it's not that…"  
  
Her voice trailed off and he feared for a moment that she was slipping back into that almost lifeless state that he had found her in.  
  
Max couldn't look at Evan because she didn't want to see the people she had failed. In this military world he was ironically her only link to her past. There was no way Max could ever look at him and not see Zack. She knew that Zack was now lost and this person that held her now with those same strong arms, same firm grip, was Evan. In his clear blue eyes she oddly saw them both. His rough hands betrayed that he had lived a hard life like Zack, probably even harder, living alone with no family. His eyes told of how he too had been trained as a cold blooded killer; how he too was taught to plan with the precise and calculated thoughts of a leader, if only for himself. And every kind word he said, so unlike anything at Manticore, foretold the shine of individuality.  
  
If not for his almost innocent view of the world and his strange tenderness she could have easily forgotten he wasn't the older brother she had lost.  
  
Either way she had failed both Zack and Evan, as well as everyone in the stories that she had told Evan when he had visited her each of those lonely nights.  
  
It was during that last torture session that she had let them all down. She thought she could fight them off, that she would never fall like Brin had… but it proved too much.  
  
She had come undone.  
  
Trapped in her mind, she could feel every agonizing move of the scalpel as it tore through skin and muscle alike. She couldn't struggle, she couldn't scream and she wish this agony to be on anyone else but herself. For a while the pain was so intense that she thought they were trying to take back the very heart Zack had given her. With all her borrowed heart and broken soul Max sought to become that soldier they wanted her to be. She was even pushed her so far as to love the very idea of becoming an operative again. Even more then she could remember loving Logan…  
  
She had failed them all…  
  
"It was only the pain Max." Evan spoke softly too her, trying to sooth the turmoil of emotions he could feel through her shivering skin, "No one can withstand torture forever, not even us."  
  
Max as taken aback, had he read her thoughts?  
  
"You have so many people who care for you on the outside. Your friends, your family, that man Logan that makes you smile just by thinking about him. If they are exactly as you describe then they won't care about a moment's weakness. Zack sacrificed his heart to you because he cared for you that much. You can't just throw that away."  
  
"I don't deserve their love…" She pulled away from his warmth and hugged her knees, wincing as her newly healing abs protested to the movement.  
  
"No one has to deserve love. At least I don't want to believe that." He crossed his legs and slumped his shoulders.  
  
He would have to leave soon and he stole another look at her beautiful face. In such a short time the dying embers of her eyes were again blazing with life once more, even if they were damp with tears.  
  
He paused in the open door. "Soon, Maxie, I'll get you out of here."  
  
Evan slipped out quietly into the cool night.  
  
*****  
  
Max was deep in the void when the dream came to her.  
  
~~~  
She was running desperately from someone, or something, through a dark forest she recognized as Manticore. The huge trees loomed over her, ancient watchers of the atrocities that took place here. It seemed that the evil here was so pure that it mangled the branches into sickly twisted arms, the roots seemed to grab at her ankles.  
  
Soon her legs muscles began to seize up from the exertion and she fell to her knees. Max tried to stand again, she could feel her freedom so close, but there was a horrible throbbing in her stomach that made her collapse again. Placing her hand where the pain was she could feel the oozing liquid slip through her fingers.  
  
It was blood.  
  
An overwhelming sense of hopelessness washed over her. She didn't want to run anymore. Clenching her eyes shut, she lay herself on her back and waited to die.  
  
"Maxie." She felt more then heard the presence that knelt beside her. The voice was unmistakable. "I gave you a gift because I knew you were strong."  
  
Opening her eyes she looked up to see Zack. He looked sad.  
  
"Please Max, don't prove me wrong."  
~~~  
  
She woke with a start, her breathing heavy.  
  
In her chest she could feel her heart thumping. 'Fight them Maxie…'  
  
"I'm sorry…after what you did for me…" she whispered to the voice in her head.  
  
Her heart began to calm. 'Promise me you'll fight them.'  
  
"I promise."  
  
As she slipped back into that oblivion of sleep she vowed that she would fight with her dying breath.  
  
*****  
  
Two days later Logan and the X5's relocated to Wyoming.  
  
The tension was palpable as they waited for night to fall that even Jaxx was pacing the floor warily. Last time Krit and Syl hadn't been half as nervous. But last time the knowledge of Max's capture and Zack's death wasn't hanging above their heads.  
  
Logan just lay on his cot, hands clasped behind his head, staring into the rafters above him. Today was all or nothing.  
  
*****  
  
There was definitely something in the air today. Evan swam harder, ran faster, and didn't even care when they beat him. All he could think about was leaving with Max tonight, nothing else mattered. He would finally have his family.  
  
*****  
  
Again trapped, Max held onto that tiny sliver of hope that had buried itself deep in her mind. So far within, where even the torture could not taint it. She paid no attention when they began to cut through her newly healed tissue for she knew it was only flesh and it would heal again. Max nestled in the idea that there was an end to this pain.  
  
She would fight, and it wasn't hard this day. She could smell her freedom. It was almost as if she could feel Logan and her family so close. And that gave her strength.  
  
*****  
  
Logan sat in the back of the black van preparing his equipment. The others were strapping their numerous guns on and carefully packing the explosives into two bags. The makeshift blueprints lay on the ground and Cam went through the plan once more.  
  
In, out. That is all they had to worry about. But Logan was the crux of this operation. He had to disrupt the cameras, he had to set of some alarms, while suppress others, and he would have to deal with viral detection programs that could any minute boot him out of the system. Max's rescue and their survival depended on how quickly he typed. A challenging thought but he was up to it. He just wanted Max back in his arms and he was determined to make that happen tonight.  
  
So wrapped in his purpose Logan didn't even hear as they closed the doors on him. Only the chatter on the two way ear plugs they all wore brought him back.  
  
"Cam here, can you read me Logan?"  
  
"Yeah, loud and clear."  
  
"Avery here." Avery's cold voice even carried over the radio waves.  
  
"Krit, ready to go."  
  
"Syl here."  
  
"Zane and Jaxx, itchin' to get this over with"  
  
"Jondy…let's get this bitch over with…" Jondy's voice was filled with confidence. It was the first time since he had met her that Logan heard her sound so sure of what she was about to do. She sounded almost exactly like Max when she said that and Logan's heard pounded in his chest. He wouldn't leave Gillette without Max. Even if all six of them failed he would go in after her.  
  
"Everyone report when you reach your entry point. Until then we go silent." Cam said.  
  
And it was just as he said. Silent. Logan couldn't even hear them breathe. He was almost startled when their hushed voices came through.  
  
"Avery and Syl in position."  
  
No more then a minute later Jondy and Krit reported in, and seconds after that Cam and Zane.  
  
"Logan, how are the cameras?"  
  
"Looping, you're good to go."  
  
*****  
  
"What the hell is the point of this surveillance anyways? No one even knows this place exists."  
  
"Shut up Billy, just be thankful we aren't on clean up duty."  
  
Billy sighed and sipped at his coffee which was still a little too hot. With his other hand he flipped through the different cameras. "Damn!"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"At least there is one good thing about this job…I mean if they wanted these kids to blend in they shouldn't have made them so damn sexy…"   
  
Billy's colleague leaned back and looked at the screen that centered on Max. She seemed to be sleeping in her cell. He couldn't help but agree, "That fine specimen has been tortured for weeks now and she barely has bags under her eyes…makes you wonder how long she lasts in the-"  
  
"Shit!" Billy exclaimed, his attentions drawn to a computer screen to his left. It was a layout of the base and several spots were flashing red, "We have perimeter breaches in sectors B, L and S. Whoever it is is attacking through the forest. Fuck, they'll have a lot of cover… we need to secure the forest perimeter."  
  
"Ah fuck," the other said as he grabbed for his two way radio.  
  
*****  
  
"Alarms are triggered."  
  
"Thank you Captain Obvious," Zane muttered under his breath as he and Cam watched from behind some bushes as soldiers cleared out of the building. They waited until no more came out then crept to the door. Jaxx following closely at Zane's heels.  
  
*****  
  
"We're going in," Avery whispered as she signaled a more detailed command to Syl.  
  
Syl nodded and they too slipped into the building.  
  
*****  
  
"Waiting," Krit said as he and Jondy lay low in some shadows pressing themselves as closely to the buildings as they could. The cover they found was miniscule and they were forced to stretch the whole lengths of their bodies to the ground.  
  
*****  
  
Evan was in the middle of training when he noticed a private run in and pull a drill sergeant off to the side. After a quick exchange of words his training was halted and the Sergeant McCoy addressed all of them. "There is an attack on the base, several perimeter breaches on the forest side. We need to help secure the forest edge. Get your shit and move out."  
  
'Perfect!' Evan smiled inside, careful to keep his face cold and uncaring. 'I can easily get Max out in this confusion.' He wasn't about to question what exactly was going on or who the intruders were. Whether it was real aggressors or a faulty wire, he wasn't about to let this opportunity pass.  
  
"XI5-603!"  
  
"Yes sir!"  
  
"What are you waiting fore?! Get out there and help secure the base!"  
  
"Yes sir!" Evan ran out and grabbed his vest. Lagging behind the others, he ducked into the shadows and headed for cell H-16. It all seemed a little too convenient, but there would be no other chance to free Max.  
  
*****  
  
Both groups jumped whatever pitiful defenses remained that they could not avoid and snapped their necks. Earlier they had all agreed to save their ammo until it was absolutely necessary, more specifically the escape. Besides, they needed to keep a low profile.  
  
It was quiet, just like Cam had anticipated, but Avery and Syl were still wary as they winded through the maze of hallways to the largest DNA lab.  
  
Speaking to each other only through sign language they finally got to the doors of the laboratory. Syl pulled out a small torch and started working on the locking mechanism while Avery stood watch.  
  
*****  
  
On the other side of the same building Zane and Cam were doing much the same thing. Their doors were on opposite ends of a T intersection and Jazz was helping out by playing sentry for his owner.  
  
Cam had just broken through his door when they both heard a low grumble developing in Jaxx's throat. They looked at each other and signaled a short conversation.  
  
Zane nodded and turned back to his door while Cam stood hugging the wall, stalking in the shadows, waiting to spring whoever it was that Jaxx was sensing.  
  
Behind him as he worked on the door, Zane could hear muffled cries and bone crunching sounds and when he turned around Cam stood amid a pile of limp bodies. Three guards went down the wrong hall at the wrong time.  
  
Satisfied no one else was coming Cam looked to his brother, "Are you in?"  
  
"Yeah, I'm in."  
  
"Then let's set the charges and get the fuck out of here."  
  
*****  
  
"What the fuck were they doing here?" Syl's eyes widened as she looked around the lab. All along one wall were large tubes. Each one was filled with a reddish liquid, and in that liquid a fetus floated, it's umbilical cord still attached. Avery paused to look as well.  
  
Some had webbed hands, while others had fin like protrusions coming out of the calves and forearms. One had a human face but was covered in spotted fur from head to toe and another had strangely large eyes and feathers growing out of its back and arms. Yet another had a human body but a cat's face and tail.  
  
There were hundreds of them and they couldn't help but shudder.  
  
"Manticore…" Avery muttered under he breath as she set off to place the bombs, "One big fucking freak show…"  
  
Syl couldn't bring herself to move. She just stared at the small catgirl. Is this what happened before they could perfect the DNA and make them look human? All the lives of these innocent babies waster…  
  
She stepped closer and unconsciously reached out to the child.  
  
'Poor thing…"  
  
Syl was watching its face when all of a sudden the child's eyes blinked open for a moment, revealing slitted pupils. It's tiny finger-claws stretched before the clenched back into tiny fists. Syl froze in her spot. Was it just a trick of the light?  
  
"Syl!" Avery hissed, "Come on, we don't have much time."  
  
"Uh… yeah…" Syl could barely speak as she turned and caught the explosive Avery tossed to her.  
  
Syl set it down reverently at the foot of the cat-child. 


	8. Fated

---transcend---  
  
chapter8: fated  
  
"Report!" Renfro snapped as she stormed into her office. She was never in a good mood, let alone when she was awakened in the middle of the night.  
  
The Major who had awoken her stood ready at her door. "We are under attack. There are perimeter breaches in Sectors B, L and S. All of which are along the forest perimeter. Troops have swarmed the area and are in the process of securing the forest edge. No intruder will get out of the forest and to the base."  
  
Renfro sat at her desk, little comforted by the Major's confidence. She studied her computer screen on which she could see the entire layout of the base. Each of her soldiers were marked with a blue dot and she watched as they formed a line all along the forest edge.  
  
"I want men at the research building…" Renfro said.  
  
"But Ma'am," his voice carried a patronizing tone, "that's on the other side-" he cut his own sentence short as the computer screen indicated 2 new alarms were set off. Both in the research building.  
  
"Fuck!" the major cursed as he stormed out, yelling new instructions into this two way radio.  
  
Renfro sat and stared at the drama unfolding on her screens. Blue dots were moving all about the screen. A good two thirds of them were either watching the forest edge or scouring the forest itself.  
  
Now, with the new orders, she could see most of the remaining third making their way toward the labs on the other side.  
  
She watched as a huge gap developed in the middle. It only took a moment for her to figure it out.  
  
"Idiots! They are going after X5-452."  
  
Renfro pulled out her phone and used speed dial. She waited impatiently for two rings before someone picked up.  
  
"Surveillance."  
  
"Is there much movement in the research building?"  
  
"We didn't see anything when the alarms went off."  
  
"How is prisoner H-16?"  
  
There was a moment's pause. "She's still lying on her bed. She's been like that ever since they put her in there."  
  
*****  
  
Logan found the camera that was trained on Max. His heart skipped a beat as he watched her sitting on her bed. Despite everything she must have went through she was still beautiful. If only he could somehow talk to her now. He wanted to run out of this stuffy van and hold her in his arms. Tell her it was all over now.  
  
'I'm here Max… come to me.'  
  
His thoughts seemed to prompt her to stand and walk to the door. Logan's eyes were glued to her as he watched her move. She seemed stiff and slow and slightly hunched over in pain, a far cry from her usual confident grace. He was taken by surprise when the screen he was watching blinked out and turned to snow.  
  
"Damnit!" He was too intent on watching Max that he forgot to watch his systems to avoid virus detectors, and for that he was found and booted off the system.  
  
"Logan? What's wrong?" Cam was the first to respond to his curse.  
  
"I got booted off. I'm trying to get back in now." He typed furiously on his keyboard.  
  
"Is our cover blown?" Syl's voice was full of concern, "We still have to get Max out…"  
  
"No, no, the looping program was uploaded into their system, it should still be intact so long as they don't find it."  
  
*****  
  
Evan went through the building, a man with a mission, knocking unconscious anyone who stood between him and Max. He couldn't waste time explaining why he was inside instead of outside securing the base.  
  
Soon enough, leaving a trail of motionless bodies behind him, he reached Max's room. Upon opening it, Max was standing waiting for him, the look in her eyes told him she was waiting for him. She looked tired, and she was hunched over, one arm protecting her stomach. It was obvious she had not yet fully healed from the day's torture. It didn't even seem that the drugs they had used had fully worn off as she still seemed a little dazed and her movements were sluggish.  
  
But he could see the determination in her eyes. There was no mistaking that, though her body was weak, her mind was strong.  
  
"Come on, let's go," he said as he took her arm and rest it over his shoulders, while putting a supporting arm around her back.  
  
*****  
  
Renfro grabbed her gun and ran out of her office, ordering whatever soldiers she came across to follow her to the cell block. None questioned her authority and walked briskly at her heels. By the time she reached the front doors she led a small army of fifty men. In the front entrance she gave her commands.  
  
"Non lethal shots are preferred boys," she emphasized the word 'preferred', "I want them stopped, not killed. But if there is no other way, shoot to kill, those kids are better to us dead then rogue." They nodded and headed down the main hall, Renfro close behind.  
  
*****  
  
Krit and Jondy ran down the empty halls, only meeting three or four guards in total, which they easily disposed of. They knew Cam's plan would have made it quiet, but they never anticipated it would be this quiet. It could have just been that the plan was extremely well executed, but conditions were never this ideal.  
  
Soon they ran across a soldier who lay sprawled unconscious on the ground.  
  
"Are we running in circles?" Jondy asked.  
  
Krit leaned down and turned the man over to see his face. "Never seen this man before. Something was going down here before we even got in." he said more to himself then anybody. This was not a good omen. "Logan, are you back in? What the hell was going on in here?"  
  
"I don't know. I'm still off the system. I saw her in her cell last time I was on. Keep running that way. I'll be back on soon. Cam, Avery, where are you?"  
  
"Zane and I are heading out." Cam replied.  
  
"We're on our way." Avery answered. "Krit, you guys need help?"  
  
"Not yet…" Krit sounded very unsure.  
  
Finally Krit and Jondy reached the room Max was supposed to be held in only to find the door ajar, the room empty. Krit stepped in and took a quick look around, "Shit! She's not here!"  
  
*****  
  
Though Evan could have probably been at the perimeter fence by now, Max's injuries slowed them to a brisk walk even when she was fully leaning into him. But he would not leave her, even when he heard the footsteps of several men catching up from behind.  
  
"There are too many of them," Max said, she sounded scared.  
  
"Go," he said, trying to unwrap her arm from around his neck, but she clung fast.  
  
"You can't take them all on your own, we have to hide.".  
  
"There is no where to hide, you have to go."  
  
"I won't leave you behind."  
  
The footsteps were fast approaching and when the first few men rounded the corner at the far end of the corridor, they quickened their pace and yelled for them to halt. Evan could here another man as he yelled back to those who were following him. "It's XI5, he's helping the prisoner escape!"  
  
"Please Maxie," he softened his tone, pleading with his azure eyes, "Please."  
  
Max hesitated a moment, not wanting to lose him, but it was obvious he would not turn away from this fight. He was dogged to protect her and if she were to stay she would be even more of a hindrance to him. "Be close behind."  
  
"I promise." And they turned their separate ways.  
  
Evan walked slowly toward the sound of the approaching soldiers, gathering his energy for one final battle, fingering the trigger of his only gun.  
  
Max walked as fast as she could, running her hand along the wall for support, praying to the blue lady that he would keep his promise.  
  
*****  
  
"What do you mean she's not there?" Logan's typing faltered for a moment, "I just saw her there! She was standing at the door…"  
  
"I mean she's not here. H-16. It's open and she's not here. First a bunch of unconscious soldiers in the hallway and now Max is missing. This is not good."  
  
"Maybe she knows we are here and is fighting her way out right now," Logan's voice was full of hope.  
  
Krit wasn't so optimistic, "The locking mechanism is on the outside, and it's been opened cleanly. There is no way Max could have done this herself."  
  
Cam's voice cut in, "Krit, Jondy, get out now. If she isn't there, there is nothing we can do."  
  
"No! Wait! I can find her. Just give me time," Logan yelled, angered that they would give up on Max so easily.  
  
"Time isn't a luxury here," Avery sounded annoyed.  
  
Cam agreed, "Logan, this was a strike operation, timing was essential."  
  
"So we just give up on her? She's your sister for fuck's sake."  
  
"Jondy and Krit are family too." Avery bit back.  
  
Syl tried to bring the civility back into the conversation. "They don't have time to search for her, Logan. They are putting themselves at risk."  
  
He was so close to having her, and he wasn't about to lose her again.  
  
"I can handle it." Jondy cut into the tense silence, her confidence was unmistakable. "Logan, just get back online and be my eyes." It was obvious she was as determined to get Max out of there as Logan was.  
  
"I'm with Jondy, we can handle this." Krit backed his sister up.  
  
*****  
  
Evan easily took down the first five soldiers that approached him. When the others saw Evan and the bodies that surrounded him, they could think of nothing else to do but shoot.  
  
The large hallway seemed anything but when the bullets started to fly. He shot off all but four of his rounds into the crowd, each shot deadly accurate, killing soldier after soldier, but the approaching wall of fatigues didn't seem to diminish.  
  
The bullets whizzed all about him, one so close to his ear he felt it nick his cartilage. Evan jumped, rolled, and dodged but it was inevitable. A bullet tagged him in the leg and he could feel the blood soaking his pant leg. It hurt like hell, but the anguish only seemed to drive him harder. The more adrenaline that pumped through his veins the less he felt the pain.  
  
Having no bullets he sprinted straight for them, ducking and dodging until he got within reach of the closest soldier. Evan kicked the gun out of his hand and using the same momentum, rammed his elbow into the man's face. Grabbing the body before it hit the ground he threw it into the crowd of men. The shooting ceased for a moment as they all jumped to the side to doge the body. The cramped quarters finally worked to Evan's advantage, as three men could not avoid their comrade's flying body.  
  
Evan took the moment of ceasefire to attack. He ran straight into the middle of the crowd. It was dangerous but it also forced them to stop shooting, and Evan chances of survival increased exponentially when the guns were put away. But he wasn't out of the woods yet. The previous forty-four hours of training had worn him down, and his aching leg was bothering him but he prayed his muscles would be cooperative for this fight. By the looks of it there were only twenty men left standing.  
  
Three men ran at him, the butts of their rifles ready to strike. He sensed their attack and quickly crouched low, tripping one up with a sweeping kick, winding another with a punch to the gut. However he was not quick enough to stop the third who struck him forcefully in the face with his rifle. Dazed for a split second it took a while for Evan to realize that the man raised his arms in preparation for another attack.  
  
Just as the weapon was raised Evan pulled it together and stood as quickly as he could, adding all that momentum to an uppercut to the man's chin. The force was so great that the follow through drove the man's head into the ceiling.  
  
There was no time to catch his breath before the next group was on him.  
  
*****  
  
Besides the clicking of Logan's keys, there was an unsettling silence on their coms. That is, before the sound of gunfire rang through.  
  
Zane, Cam, Avery and Syl, only a minute away from the van, stopped in their tracks.  
  
"What was that?" Zane asked.  
  
"There is some serious gunfire in this building." Krit responded, his voice conveyed how concerned he was.  
  
"Max…" Syl whispered it only to herself, but they all heard.  
  
"Logan," Jondy said, "We need to know what is going on, and he need to know now!"  
  
Jondy was stating the obvious and Logan didn't sound impressed, "Yeah, I know." His typing increased, "Almost…almost…Yes, I'm back in."  
  
There was no time for congratulations. "Where is she?"  
  
Logan skipped from camera to camera until he finally found her, relief loosed the grip of fear on his heart. "Thank God, she's alive."   
  
"Lead us to her Logan," Jondy was sounding impatient.  
  
"Turn around, take your…third left, she's running straight toward you, no one is following her. You need to get to her now, she looks hurt…"  
  
"We're on it. Just keep an eye out for where those gunshots are coming from."  
  
It took them only a moment to find her. "Max!" Jondy yelled down the hall. So relieved to see her sister, Jondy forgot where she was or who could have heard her.  
  
Jondy ran to her sister's side and took her arm around her shoulders. "Jondy?" Max looked at her sister's face, a weak smile brushing her lips. She was tired, very tired.  
  
"Do you have her?" Logan asked, "How is she?"  
  
"She's fine Logan. What about the gunfire?"  
  
"It's on the other side of the building…It's a huge group of soldiers…I can't see what they are doing…"  
  
"Just as long as we are clear to leave."  
  
"Same way you came in, everything's clear."  
  
"Come on, this way," Krit said helping to support Max.  
  
"Krit." Max leaned into them both, her eyes drooping with exhaustion.  
  
"We're here Max, just hold on a little longer and we'll get you out of here."  
  
"No… wait…" She straightened a bit, momentarily fighting their advance, before she keeled over again, her wounds were still aching. She turned and looked over her shoulder impeding their progress, "We have to go back…"  
  
"What are you talking about Max?" Jondy asked, brushing Max's hair back with her fingers. It was strange to see Max so weak.  
  
"We have to help him. He needs me…"  
  
Jondy and Krit gave each other a knowing look. XI5-603. "No Max he doesn't need our help." Krit took the earpiece out of his ear and slipped it into Max's.  
  
Logan saw what he had done and spoke, he tried to keep his voice calm, hiding his anxiety. "Max. I'm here…"  
  
"Logan?" She eyes widened, "Logan." Max was so happy to hear Logan's voice she forgot about XI5-603 and followed wherever Krit and Jondy lead her.  
  
*****  
  
"Where are they?" a general called through to the surveillance room.  
  
"The building is completely empty except for our men. No one has been in or out of the labs."  
  
The general put his radio away and muttered to himself, "Shit, if this is a drill…"  
  
Louder he addressed his men, "We need to sweep the building. You ten, come with me, the rest of you go to Labs C and D. Anyone you don't recognize, you shoot."  
  
The men split down two different hallways.  
  
*****  
  
Cam and Zane, followed closely by Jaxx reached the van first.  
  
"Avery, what is your e.t.a.?"  
  
"Less than a minute. I can see the van from here."  
  
Cam nodded, and got into the van, looking over Logan's shoulder at Jondy and Krit as they helped Max out of the facility. "Where are they?"  
  
"Second floor. They should be clear soon."  
  
Krit, who had taken back his com from Max spoke, "We're well on our way out now…"  
  
"How is activity by the labs?"  
  
A quick command and the screen changed, showing soldiers flooding the research building.  
  
"We can't risk them deactivating the bombs. Set them off."  
  
*****  
  
In the surveillance rooms, the lights of the television screens reflected onto the soldier's faces. Just by chance a screen caught one man's eyes. It was a security guard walking casually through his building. He seemed strangely unaffected by all the alarms that were going off on the base.  
  
"Guys, does this guy know…" he paused as the guard disappeared, and then reappeared at the edge of the screen and walked down the hall in the exact nonchalant matter he had done before.  
  
"What the…oh fuck, the cameras have been looping."  
  
It didn't take long for the three men to scour their database, find the virus and dispose of it.  
  
When they got their cameras back online the empty halls of the research building magically filled with soldiers.  
  
"Holy shit! There are heavy explosives in the labs!"  
  
"Fuck!" one called out as he switched to the camera in the hall that lead to the main DNA lab. Sure enough a group of soldiers were fast approaching the lab. He tried to reach the General who led them, "General! General! Turn back! Evacuate immediately!"  
  
But his warning came to late. The explosion poured out of the lab, a fiery tsunami that the soldiers had no hope of escaping.  
  
All they could do was watch as the flames engulfed their comrades, and just as quickly the screen blinked out and became static.  
  
There was a moment of silence for the loss but they did not dare mourn for long.  
  
*****  
  
Renfro watched XI5-603 systematically take down all the men she had gathered. He kicked a man in the gut and when the man bent over, XI5 used his back as a spring board to leap at another man and kick him in the face, snapping his neck around.  
  
Renfro's feet were glued to the ground despite the impending danger.  
  
It was beautiful. It was watching 80 years of research and 21 years of training liquefied into a few minutes of fury. She was almost happy until she realized she was the only one left standing, and that the transgenic super soldier that she had taken special interest in, was now turning his attention on her.  
  
Biting the hand that feeds him…  
  
She had grossly underestimated him. She knew those kids were good, but she thought fifty fully armed men could have handled one. What sad circumstances it was, that she finally got to see XI5-603 reach his full potential.  
  
Renfro pulled out her phone and speed dialed a number, but before she could get the phone to her ear, it was shot out of her hand. Dropping her hand to her side she looked at XI5, standing her ground. There was no use in running.  
  
Evan held the gun aimed straight at her head. He had saved four bullets just for her. His breathing was heavy and his shoulders rose and fell with every intake of breath. The wound in his leg was still bleeding profusely and he was favoring the leg as he walked toward her.  
  
"I want you to leave the X5 alone."  
  
"I can't do that." Renfro shook her head, "Have you been listening to her lies, 603?"  
  
Evan ran at her and used his forearm to pin her to the wall. "No." he pressed her hard and she winced momentarily at the pain. His face only inches from hers, he bared his teeth menacingly, "You were the one with all the lies. I read my files Renfro, I know about my past. I wasn't alone."  
  
"Don't kid yourself. You were always alone. You were trained to never need anybody but yourself to rely on."  
  
"You've kept me from my family long enough."  
  
"Is that what she told you?" Renfro shook her head in pity, "Did she offer you a family? I told you to stay away from her, she would only confuse you."  
  
"I've never thought clearer in my life!" Evan was filled with rage, he saw nothing but her smug face and wanted so much to grab her neck and choke off her air supply. A quick death was too good for her.  
  
"Come now 603, don't you realize she is just using you to get out of here? What family can she offer you out there? We are your family, the X5 abandoned you."  
  
"They didn't even know I existed because of you! I want you to forget about the X5s and me."  
  
"I'm sorry but I just can't do that."  
  
He was so filled with rage he didn't even notice the familiar click of a safety release. Only when he felt the familiar sensation of hot metal penetrating his skin did Evan realize she had a gun.  
  
Stumbling backward he fell on both his knees, he pressed his palm just under his ribcage and again felt warm liquid. He pulled his hand back and saw it was coated in crimson. More blood. Too much blood.  
  
Faster then the human mind could register, Evan raised his own gun. Renfro had time to do nothing else but freeze as the bullet fired from the barrel, hit her in the corner of her eye and left through the back of her skull, finally coming to an abrupt stop in the wall behind her.  
  
Like all the soldiers that lay before her now, her lifeless body crumpled in a heap.  
  
Again he fired a bullet into the human shell that was Renfro, and a fourth. Soon he was firing an empty gun, the dull metal snap was the only sound to fill the halls save for his ragged breath.  
  
For two deep breaths he stared at her, watching the red pool grow around her. Her face still held that icy expression that seemed strangely satisfied, as though she were happy it was one of her own that took her down. It made Evan feel sick.  
  
Grunting at the throbbing in his stomach, he ripped his shirt and tied it around his torso, trying to apply pressure to his wound. He did the same for his leg. With the aid of the closest rifle, trying so hard to ignore the excruciating pain, he got onto his feet.  
  
Looking briefly over his shoulder he saw the carnage he had done. The hall was awash with blood.  
  
Evan turned his back on the scene, on this violent way of life, on Manticore and hobbled as fast as he could after Max.  
  
He had a promise to keep.  
  
*****  
  
The scene on the closed circuit TV wasn't pretty. The hall was lined with motionless bodies. One of them belonging to Renfro. "Oh Jesus, Prison Block H. We need men there now!"  
  
*****  
  
Krit, Jondy and Max were already out of the building and were well on their way to the cover of forest when Max heard someone call her name.  
  
"Max!"  
  
She looked back over her shoulder and saw Evan struggling to catch up. It was evident that he was severely hurt, his clothing drenched in blood.  
  
"We…We have to help him…" Again Max fought her siblings, trying to turn back and help him. She wouldn't leave him behind.  
  
Krit looked back at who was following them and saw the limping figure. It was Zack. 'No,' he corrected himself, 'XI5-603.'  
  
Jondy, too, was amazed. She knew it wasn't Zack but he looked so much like him that she almost found herself turning back to help him to safety.  
  
"No, Max. We need to get you home."  
  
"But he's hurt!" she sounded almost childish as she fought to free herself and help Evan, but in her weakened condition she was no match for her siblings.  
  
*****  
  
Evan stumbled out the doors and saw Max across the field. Two people were helping her run and he knew without having to think twice, that those were the X5. He saw more standing at the edge of the forest.  
  
He called out Max's name just to let her know that he had kept his promise and was staying close behind.  
  
*****  
  
Cam and the X5's waited for them a step beyond the cover of trees. They all inhaled sharply when they saw the solitary figure that was following behind.  
  
They all searched the man's face, trying to find some distinguishing scar, or imperfection to tell him apart from Zack. Any little thing that would make them feel better as they left him behind. They saw XI5-603 call out Max's name. And the sound of his voice sent shivers up their spines. Even his voice was exactly that of Zack…What else could they expect from Zack's genetic twin.  
  
"Guys," Logan's voice rang in their ears. "There are soldiers in hot pursuit. They will be on you in less then a minute."  
  
"Jondy," Cam spoke urgently, "you have to hurry."  
  
"We're trying." Jondy replied then turned to Max, "Max, we need to go."  
  
"What are you doing?!" she pleaded almost hysterically, not understanding why they refused to listen to her, "Please! He's hurt!"  
  
*****  
  
Evan tripped and fell to one knee, he could feel his wounds ripping anew. But he pushed it all out of his mind. He was almost free.  
  
With much ache he got back onto his feet and called her name out once again.   
  
*****  
  
"Max!" The stranger with the familiar face yelled out once more, holding his hand out towards them. With that Max fought even harder.  
  
Far behind them, out the doors of the building streamed soldier after soldier, the sound of their gunfire soon filled the air.  
  
Startled Evan stumbled once more. It was getting harder and harder to get back up.  
  
*****  
  
Cam raced towards them, followed closely by the others. "Hurry!"  
  
The other's pulled out their weapons and began shooting at the soldiers that were quickly gaining ground. Some fell, but there were just too many…  
  
"No! He's hurt! They're gonna kill him!" Max's strength had not yet returned but it was out of sheer will power that she broke free from both Krit and Jondy. She set aside the pain, and ran for Evan.  
  
Krit and Jondy started to run after her, but a freak bullet caught Krit in the hip, and Jondy stopped to help him.  
  
"Aw, fuck!" Cam said, shaking his head. Max's stubbornness left him no choice. Cam stopped and, out from under his jacket, pulled out a P14-45. He didn't want to do this. It was like shooting at Zack. Maybe this XI5-603 thought like Zack as well. Maybe he could be easily swayed to join them on the outside. But could they take that chance. This person had undergone ten more years of training and indoctrination. Was there a point where one could not be converted? Zack was one of their best. If they could change this clone…  
  
His hand shook as he aimed it at the clone and for the first time in his life, Cam hesitated.  
  
*****  
  
By now XI5-603's treachery was clear. Orders were given to take them all down.  
  
One soldier, faster then the others, sprinted up ahead. Close enough, he dove to the ground and centered XI5-603 in his sights.  
  
*****  
  
Max ran toward him, as quickly as she could still clutching her wounds. "Evan!" she yelled his name. The whole world seemed to slow down. The bullets flying in both directions became lazy butterflies. He had kept his promise and came back to her.  
  
As she closed in it was obvious that he was even worse off then he seemed. The strips of cloth that were tied around his ribs and leg were dripping with blood. He was wincing at the simple effort of walking. Seeing this, and knowing that he was injured saving her, Max's own pain faded away. It was nothing compared to what he voluntarily did for her.  
  
*****  
  
Evan's pace quickened to catch up to her. What was she doing running back? Didn't she see the soldiers behind him? It was dangerous for her. She had to turn back around, head back to safety…  
  
*****  
  
Only a few strides away Max saw Evan's eyes widen. His feet fumbled and he fell forward into her.  
  
"Evan? Evan!" Not expecting it, and still weak, Max fell clutching him in her arms. With her hands on his back she could feel the warm wetness. She could feel his warm blood surge out onto her own chest from new wound right were his heart was. "No!" she screamed in his ear, desperately switching positions to cradle him in her arms. "Don't leave me!"  
  
Blood dribbled out of the side of his mouth. He lifted his hand weakly, knowing he was about to die. "Go."  
  
"Evan, no…"  
  
"Please Maxie…" The life was quickly fading from his crystal blue eyes, "Please."  
  
*****  
  
Cam and Zane got to Max first and dragged her roughly away. They had no time to be gentle. But she seemed more cooperative this time, actually running with them toward the forest to which Jondy had already escaped to with the injured Krit. Syl and Avery stood like two sentries, discarding used weapons only to use fresh ones to plow down the soldiers that tried to follow.  
  
Soon they were all under the cover of forest and were quickly on their way to the van where Logan was waiting nervously.  
  
Logan gathered Max up in his arms, she leaned into his warmth, taking comfort in his strong arms.  
  
Avery jumped into the driver's seat, Zane and Jaxx got in beside her, as the rest of them crammed into the back. All its passengers safely inside, the black van sped off into the night, Syl hastily closing the rear doors, watching behind to see no one following.  
  
"It's okay," Logan's voice was soothing, "It's all over now… We have you… You're safe." He brushed the hair from her face and wiped the tears away from her cheeks, softly kissing her on the forehead and hugging her close.  
  
*****  
  
Evan lay staring at the stars above him as his death loomed near. In Max he finally had a family, if only for a few weeks, and he died content, knowing she was safe.  
  
  
  
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author's note: this is the first time i have actually completed a story. please let me know what you thought of the ending, or the whole story in general. 


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